Rubio meets Russia's Lavrov in Manila to try to revive prospect of US helping end war in Ukraine

MANILA — U.S.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday in the Philippines for talks where he was expected to renew the prospect of the U.S. trying to broker an end to the war in Ukraine.

The U.S. and Russia did not immediately provide details of the meeting on the sidelines of an annual gathering by foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Manila.

Three days of closed-door talks that started Tuesday have focused on the resurgent war in the Middle East , the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and, closer to home, the South China Sea, where a new clash flared Thursday.

U.S. efforts to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war have dropped off as indirect talks stalled and the Iran war took center stage.

Renewed strikes by Washington and Tehran have been intensifying after an interim ceasefire deal collapsed.

Rubio told reporters in Manila on Wednesday that he plans to raise the conflict in Ukraine with Lavrov, saying that the U.S. remained open to playing a role in ending the conflict “if that opportunity presents it ...