Media: US state secretary and Russian foreign minister plan to meet on 23 October

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio may meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on 23 October.

A source told Reuters that at a meeting on Friday 17 October, US officials said Rubio is planning to meet Lavrov next Thursday 23 October.

The US State Department has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that the location of the meeting between Lavrov and Rubio has not yet been decided.

"There is absolutely no clear understanding of this. The issue is still under consideration," he said.

Ryabkov added that Russia's war against Ukraine, bilateral relations and the economic agenda may be discussed during the Rubio-Lavrov meeting.

US President Donald Trump spoke with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin on 16 October for the first time in nearly two months. Following the conversation, he announced plans for a meeting in Budapest, which would be Putin's first appearance in an EU capital since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

On 17 October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to the White House, after which Trump said that Ukraine and Russia need "to make a deal" to end the war.

Trump also refused to provide Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said he is ready to meet Putin in Budapest.