Amid a surprising thaw in diplomatic relations following years of heightened tensions over the Ukraine conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov engaged in a pivotal phone conversation on March 15. The discussion marks a significant step in ongoing efforts to restore bilateral relations and advance negotiations for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

According to a statement from the US State Department, Rubio and Lavrov focused on reestablishing direct communication channels between Washington and Moscow, a crucial step in de-escalating longstanding tensions. The dialogue follows high-level meetings in Saudi Arabia on February 18, where both nations agreed to assign teams to work on resolving the Ukraine conflict, reinstate embassy operations, and tackle other key issues in bilateral relations.

“The Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke today with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. [They] discussed next steps to follow up on recent meetings in Saudi Arabia and agreed to continue working towards restoring communication between the United States and Russia,” the US State Department announced.

This statement reflects a shift in US-Russia relations, which had been largely frozen since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022. Diplomatic communication between the two nuclear-armed powers has been minimal in recent years, with sporadic, indirect talks largely focused on prisoner exchanges and emergency military deconfliction. However, the latest developments suggest that both nations are willing to explore broader diplomatic engagement.

The February 18 meeting in Saudi Arabia was a turning point in........

© Blitz