Manila, July 22, 2026

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced in Manila a bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit.

The announcement was made on July 22, 2026 in the Philippine capital, where a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is currently being held. Lavrov and Rubio are both attending the summit, according to the available information. No further details were initially known regarding the content or exact timing of the planned conversation.

Background to the ASEAN Summit

The meeting would be the first encounter between these two foreign ministers in the current diplomatic format. Both states have maintained strained relations for years, burdened by, among other things, the war in Ukraine and differing positions on the Middle East. Manila, as a neutral ASEAN host, provides the setting for such bilateral contacts.

According to Lavrov, the meeting will focus primarily on two conflicts: the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the tensions in the Gulf region. In doing so, he is taking up two topics that are also being discussed among the ASEAN states, for instance with regard to global energy supply and maritime security.

Topics on the Agenda

The USA has a presence in the region through alliances with the Philippines and other partners. Russia, by contrast, maintains closer relations primarily with Myanmar and Vietnam. A direct encounter between the two foreign ministers on ASEAN soil would therefore be an unusual, but not impossible, diplomatic signal.

Observers view such a meeting as a possible attempt by both sides to restore direct channels of communication without producing binding outcomes. ASEAN summits traditionally offer numerous bilateral meetings on the sidelines, which are rarely announced publicly. An explicit mention by Lavrov himself suggests a deliberately sent signal.

Diplomatic Significance

For the Philippine government as host, the date is also politically sensitive domestically, as Manila remains in dialogue both with Washington as an ally and with Beijing and Moscow. The choice of venue for a possible Lavrov-Rubio meeting underscores the strategic importance of Southeast Asia as a stage for great-power diplomacy.

It remains unclear whether delegations beyond Lavrov and Rubio will take part in the bilateral conversation. A possible joint statement at the end of the meeting has also not yet been announced.

The news was disseminated on July 22, 2026 by, among others, Deutschlandfunk and is based on agency reports.