Rubio and Lavrov Talk Ukraine, Iran in Call

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by telephone Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, according to the State Department, on a day of deadly Russian attacks in cities across Ukraine.

The two, who spoke at Lavrov’s request, “discussed the US-Russia relationship, the Russia-Ukraine war, and Iran,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a brief statement that provided no other details.

Russian forces launched attacks that killed 21 people in Ukraine on Tuesday, as President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Moscow’s “utter cynicism” for launching deadly strikes while seeking a truce ahead of its May 9 patriotic parade.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Rubio and Lavrov had a “constructive and businesslike” conversation.

The pair “compared notes on the current situation in international affairs and Russian-American relations, and also discussed the schedule of bilateral contacts,” the ministry said. AFP