Trump talks of 'major statement' on Russia

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump told NBC News on Thursday that he will make a "major statement" on Russia on Monday, without elaborating what it will be about.

"I think I'll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday," Trump told NBC News, declining to elaborate.

His remarks came as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held "frank" talks on the conflict during a meeting on Thursday.

The US top diplomat said Lavrov shared new ideas on resolving the conflict — which he promised to present to Trump — but played down the prospect of a breakthrough.

The two met hours after Moscow pummeled Kyiv for a second straight night and as the United Nations said the number of victims from Russian attacks was at its highest level in three years. In recent days, Trump has expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.

Rubio told reporters that Lavrov had floated something "new" on the conflict, but did not give details.

"It's not a new approach. It's a new idea or a new concept that I'll take back to the president to discuss," he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the United States would deliver more weapons to Kyiv and that he had "specific dates" on when they would arrive, in response to an AFP question.

Zelensky said on X that Ukraine was "ready" for different approaches to "scale up protection", including by "purchasing a large defense package from the United States, jointly with Europe".

Trump seemed to back up such an agreement. In an interview with US broadcaster NBC late on Thursday, he said NATO was "paying" the United States for weapons to send to Ukraine.

The Kremlin denied reports that peace talks were stalled and said it was still open to contacts.

On Friday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said a new round of talks between Russia and the United States on bilateral problems may take place before the end of the summer, RIA news agency reported.

In developments on the battlefield, Russian authorities said Ukraine's overnight and early Friday drone attacks killed two people in Russia and attempted to hit targets in Moscow. The Russian defense ministry also said that its air defense systems destroyed four drones over the Lipetsk region in Russia's southwest.

AGENCIES via XINHUA