Rubio echoes Trump’s 'disappointment and frustration' to Lavrov over Ukraine war deadlock

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes part in a media briefing during the 58th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers’ meeting and related meetings at the Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur on July 10, 2025. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / POOL / AFP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday he expressed "disappointment and frustration" to his Russian counterpart over the lack of progress on resolving the Ukraine war.

"I echoed what the president (Donald Trump) said, both a disappointment and frustration at the lack of progress," Rubio told reporters after the meeting with Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the ASEAN gathering in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Moscow said Lavrov and Rubio had a "frank exchange" of views on the Ukraine war. "A substantive and frank exchange of views took place on the settlement of the situation in Ukraine," Moscow's foreign ministry said in a statement.

The two diplomats, who met on the sidelines of an ASEAN gathering, also discussed the "restoration of Russian-American economic and humanitarian cooperation," the statement added.

Rubio's first visit to Asia as secretary of state came as US President Donald Trump ramped up his trade war, threatening more than 20 countries with punitive tariffs.

The meeting also follows Trump's recent expletive-filled comments about Vladimir Putin -- reflecting the US president's growing frustration with the Russian leader over the grinding war.

Trump accused Putin of talking "bullshit" about Ukraine, saying that the United States would send Kyiv more weapons to defend itself.

Rubio and Lavrov last met in February in Saudi Arabia, following a rapprochement between Trump and Putin. The two diplomats have also spoken multiple times by phone.

After Malaysia, Lavrov will visit North Korea this weekend, the latest in a series of high-profile visits by top Moscow officials as the two countries deepen military ties.

Pyongyang has emerged as one of the Kremlin's main allies during its Ukraine invasion, sending thousands of troops to Russia's Kursk region to oust Kyiv's forces and providing the Russian army with artillery shells and missiles.