Rubio to Meet Lavrov at UN as Putin Remains Absent Since Full-Scale Invasion

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York on Wednesday morning, the State Department said Tuesday. The talks will take place on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Lavrov is Moscow’s highest-ranking representative at this year’s gathering and is due to address the General Assembly later this week. Russian President Vladimir Putin has not attended the UN General Assembly in person since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with Lavrov instead leading Russia’s delegation. Putin’s last in-person UNGA appearance was in 2015, although he addressed the assembly remotely in 2020. The high-stakes bilateral meeting comes a day after US President Donald Trump met President Volodymyr Zelensky in New York, where the two discussed possible de-escalation steps ahead of winter, including a reciprocal halt to attacks on energy infrastructure. Following the meeting, Zelensky said Kyiv was prepared to stop strikes on Russian energy targets if Moscow halted attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, heating and water infrastructure. “We are ready for an energy ceasefire,” Zelensky said, adding that Washington would convey the proposal to Moscow. “I don’t know Russia’s position,” he added, expressing hope that the American side could bring Moscow “to any kind of negotiations.” Other Topics of Interest US, Iran Hold First Direct Talks in Months After Trump Threatens ‘Annihilation’ US and Iranian officials met for three hours in New York, with another round expected despite Trump’s sharply escalating rhetoric. Zelensky is also scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. The Rubio-Lavrov meeting comes as US-led efforts to broker an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine have struggled to produce a breakthrough. The two diplomats have met several times during the Trump administration’s diplomatic push, most recently holding face-to-face talks in Manila in July. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.