In brief
At the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Atlanta, Russia’s Sergey Lavrov stated that his brief talk with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was "not bad," praising Washington’s willingness to maintain dialogue. Lavrov defended a Russian-U.S. diesel fuel deal and criticized U.S. support for Ukraine, while Rubio called for stronger economic cooperation among G20 members. The meeting also saw other high‑profile bilateral talks, including Japan’s Toshimitsu Motegi urging Russia to release a detained journalist.
At the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 31, 2026, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that he had a brief, but "not bad" conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the event. Lavrov said that the exchange was constructive and welcomed Washington’s willingness to maintain dialogue at multiple levels.
Lavrov explained that the two leaders discussed how the United States and Russia could cooperate in established multilateral forums such as the United Nations, the G20 itself, and the Asia‑Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) council. He urged both capitals to pursue projects where their interests overlap and to prevent disagreements from escalating into confrontation, saying that such an approach was "mutually beneficial."
During the meeting, Lavrov defended a recent diesel fuel deal between Russia and the United States, noting that the deal was not a breakthrough in bilateral relations but a pragmatic arrangement that Moscow could support even while U.S. sanctions remained in place. He acknowledged criticism of the agreement from members of U.S. Congress but cautioned against interpreting it as a sign of improved ties.
