Top US, Russian diplomats discuss next steps on Ukraine

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on Saturday to discuss the next stage in talks on ending Moscow's war against Ukraine.

According to State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce, the top diplomats "agreed to continue working towards restoring communication between the United States and Russia."

The statement gave no details on when the next round of US-Russia talks, which are being hosted by Saudi Arabia, would begin.


Rubio also updated Lavrov on military activity in the Middle East, where US forces carried out deadly strikes Saturday against Huthi rebel targets in Yemen, the statement said.

Despite recent tensions between President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, Kyiv has agreed in principle to a US-brokered 30-day unconditional ceasefire if Moscow halts its attacks in eastern Ukraine.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has not however agreed to any truce, instead setting conditions that were beyond what was called for in the US agreement with Ukraine.