Rubio’s first visit to Asia as Secretary of State also comes as US President Donald Trump ramps up his trade war, threatening more than 20 countries with punitive tariffs.
The top US diplomat met Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of a gathering of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Kuala Lumpur.
Their meeting got under way hours after Russia hammered Ukraine’s capital Kyiv early Thursday with its second large-scale drone and missile barrage in as many nights, killing at least two people, authorities said.
It follows Donald Trump’s recent expletive-filled comments about Vladimir Putin, reflecting the US president’s growing frustration with the Russian leader over the grinding war.

Trump accused Putin of talking “bulls**t” about Ukraine, saying that the United States would send Kyiv more weapons to defend itself.