US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke on the phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the US State Department reported on Saturday, March 15. During the call, Rubio updated Lavrov on a new U.S. military operation in Yemen targeting Houthi rebels from the Ansar Allah movement.
The phone call came shortly after US President Donald Trump announced on March 15 that he had ordered “decisive, powerful” attacks against the Houthis.
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The move was in response to attacks on American warships and civilian ships in the Red Sea. Early on March 16, the US launched airstrikes on Houthi-linked targets in Yemen.
The two officials also discussed the next steps after recent meetings in Saudi Arabia. They agreed “to continue working towards restoring communication between the United States and Russia.” As of now, Moscow has not made any public comments about the conversation.
Rubio and Lavrov last met in February during talks in Saudi Arabia - it marked the first direct high-level discussion between Washington and Moscow since Russia unleashed its full-scale invasion against Ukraine.
A month later, Rubio returned to Saudi Arabia, this time leading discussions with Ukrainian representatives.
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.
Tough-Speaking Starmer Confirms Ukraine Ceasefire Planning Enters ‘Operational Phase’
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.
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