US secretary of state and Russian foreign minister have their first phone conversation

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on 17 April. It was their first conversation.

Source: European Pravda with reference to the Russian Foreign Ministry and the US Department of State press service

Details: The State Department noted that Rubio conveyed to Lavrov "the same message the US team communicated to the Ukrainian delegation and our European allies in Paris: President Trump and the United States want this war to end, and have now presented to all parties the outlines of a durable and lasting peace."

"The encouraging reception in Paris to the US framework shows that peace is possible if all parties commit to reaching an agreement," the US State Department added.

The Russian side says that, during the conversation, the secretary of state told Lavrov about the contacts of the US delegation in Paris "with representatives of Ukraine, France and a number of other European countries".

"It was emphasised that the aforementioned contacts took place in line with the ongoing consultations taking place between Washington and Moscow, including Putin's recent conversation with US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff," Moscow added.

Lavrov, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, again repeated the propaganda cliché of "addressing the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis".

"The minister and the secretary of state agreed to maintain operational communication, in particular in light of the meetings with the Ukrainian side planned by the Americans and Europeans next week," the Russian ministry added.

Background:

• Delegations from Ukraine and the United States, along with representatives of the United Kingdom and Germany, arrived in Paris on Thursday for multi-format talks to end the Russo-Ukrainian war.
• French President Emmanuel Macron received the US delegation at the Élysée Palace. The Ukrainian delegation also met with representatives of France, Germany and the UK in Paris.
• Earlier, US President Donald Trump stated that Russia was expected to send Washington its response to the proposed ceasefire in Ukraine in the coming days.

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