On the 17th local time, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov spoke on the phone with US Secretary of State Rubio. According to information published on the website of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rubio, who is visiting Paris, informed Lavrov about his communication with representatives of Ukraine, France, and other European countries with the US Special Envoy for the Middle East, Witkov. The relevant communication mainly covered the topics of bilateral negotiations between the US and Russia, including the recent conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Witkov in St. Petersburg. Lavrov said that Russia will continue to work with the US to effectively eliminate the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis. The two sides also agreed that Russia and the US will maintain contacts in the context of a series of meetings between the US and European countries and Ukraine next week. The US State Department statement said that Rubio conveyed to Lavrov that the United States had proposed a “framework for lasting peace” to all parties. The statement said that as long as all parties are committed to reaching an agreement, peace is possible.

On the 17th local time, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov spoke on the phone with US Secretary of State Rubio. According to information published on the website of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rubio, who is visiting Paris, informed Lavrov about his communication with representatives of Ukraine, France, and other European countries with the US Special Envoy for the Middle East, Witkov. The relevant communication mainly covered the topics of bilateral negotiations between the US and Russia, including the recent conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Witkov in St. Petersburg. Lavrov said that Russia will continue to work with the US to effectively eliminate the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis. The two sides also agreed that Russia and the US will maintain contacts in the context of a series of meetings between the US and European countries and Ukraine next week. The US State Department statement said that Rubio conveyed to Lavrov that the United States had proposed a “framework for lasting peace” to all parties. The statement said that as long as all parties are committed to reaching an agreement, peace is possible.