Rubio: US Ready to Help End Ukraine War07/23 06:04

   U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that the Trump 
administration is poised to help end the "senseless war" in Ukraine but 
acknowledged there is no quick path to a deal, saying diplomacy will require 
sustained effort and new ideas.

   MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said 
Thursday that the Trump administration is poised to help end the "senseless 
war" in Ukraine but acknowledged there is no quick path to a deal, saying 
diplomacy will require sustained effort and new ideas.

   Rubio, who held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, said 
Moscow and Kyiv should have the incentive to end a "very bloody war" that has 
devastated both sides.

   Rubio alluded to how U.S.-mediated talks have stalled, calling them 
"unsuccessful or at least unfruitful" in the past but insisted that President 
Donald Trump was committed to the work "if conditions and factors have changed 
to make that possible."

   "That's been the challenge -- an end that both sides can accept. And we've 
tried and we'll continue to try to see if we can, you know, find a middle 
ground that brings this about. And we're prepared to play that role if the 
opportunity presents itself," Rubio told reporters.

   Rubio met Lavrov and several other leaders, including China's foreign 
minister, on the sidelines of an annual gathering by foreign ministers of the 
Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Manila.

   America's top diplomat said the U.S. is focused on Asia even as it steps up 
fighting with Iran, seeks a pathway to end Russia's war in Ukraine and 
pressures the Cuban government to make changes.

   ASEAN talks focused on international conflicts

   Three days of closed-door talks that started Tuesday have centered on the 
escalating war in the Middle East and tensions in the South China Sea, where a 
new clash flared Thursday.

   "There's always going to be a concern that America is so focused on one 
place that it can't focus on another," Rubio told reporters. But he said the 
U.S. remains "engaged in Asia every single day," citing strong partnerships and 
economic ties across the region.

   After meeting with Rubio, Lavrov largely ignored questions from reporters. 
The Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow said he emphasized to Rubio "the 
unacceptability of further arming" Ukraine and accused European countries of 
pursuing Russia's "strategic defeat."

   Lavrov reiterated Russia's readiness for "a political and diplomatic 
resolution of the conflict" and commitment to agreements reached at a summit 
between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump in Alaska last year, the 
Russian ministry said.

   But Rubio said "we'll have to find new suggestions and new ideas" that are 
acceptable to both sides for a peace deal. There has been no change to 
Washington's military support for Ukraine, with weapons being purchased by NATO 
allies and transferred to the war-ravaged country, he said.

   U.S. efforts to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war have been 
overshadowed by the outbreak of the Iran war earlier this year. Renewed strikes 
by Washington and Tehran have been intensifying after an interim ceasefire deal 
collapsed.

   "The price will continue to get higher every single night until they come to 
their senses," Rubio said. He insisted Tehran is "begging" for talks but Trump 
does not see the use in responding because "Iran is clearly not ready to make a 
deal, at least not one they're willing to to live by."

   Trump has warned Iran that the U.S. will destroy one Iranian bridge or power 
plant each time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Foreign 
Minister Abbas Araghchi responded by saying the country's defense doctrine was 
an "eye for an eye."

   "The president's policy is a head for an eye," Rubio said. "They will pay a 
very heavy price for the things they're doing."

   China defends maritime military actions

   Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong renewed her country's alarm over the 
Chinese navy's recent test-launch of a missile from a nuclear-powered submarine 
in the region, saying the lack of notification to the Philippines and Pacific 
nations where the missile flew over and landed was destabilizing.

   "It comes in the context of a rapid military build-up of China's nuclear 
arsenal without the transparency or reassurance the region expects," Wong told 
a university forum in Manila on Thursday. "This is why Australia has described 
the test as provocative and destabilizing."

   China has defended its actions, saying the launch was part of annual 
exercises and that it gave countries in the area appropriate notice in advance.

   Rubio had a long meeting Wednesday with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. 
Rubio told reporters that he and Wang discussed a new altercation this week 
between Chinese and Filipino forces in a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, 
which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety. Rubio called the incident 
"escalatory."

   "Those need to be managed very carefully, because obviously, a conflict -- 
be it economic or otherwise -- between the U.S. and China would have a dramatic 
global impact," Rubio said.

   He also said they talked a lot about Chinese leader Xi Jinping's planned 
trip in September, noting he believes Xi will have a "very positive visit when 
he comes to Washington."

   In Beijing, the Chinese coast guard said it took necessary measures, 
including monitoring and blocking, to drive away two Philippine ships that 
disregarded repeated warnings from the Chinese side in a fresh confrontation 
Thursday.

   China said its operations were professional and lawful and urged the 
Philippines to stop its provocative actions infringing on Chinese territory. 
Philippine officials did not immediately comment.

   The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized China's assertive actions 
in the South China Sea to the disadvantage of smaller claimant countries like 
the Philippines, Washington's oldest treaty ally in Asia. Taiwan and ASEAN 
members Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have also been involved in the often-tense 
territorial standoffs.

   ASEAN aims to conclude yearslong negotiations with China on a proposed 
non-aggression pact by this year, according to a draft of a joint communiqu 
seen by The Associated Press. The so-called code of conduct aims to prevent a 
major conflict in the disputed waters, a key global trade route, that could 
draw in the United States.