US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US would continue to play a "constructive role" in finding a solution to the war, but stressed that new ideas were needed to jumpstart peace accords between the two countries.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Rubio discussed Ukraine on the sidelines of an ASEAN gathering on Thursday, in a "frank" conversation.
"If, when peace comes, it'll be because of some new idea and some new concepts, and we're prepared to offer some of those in the right setting and form if the opportunity presents itself and the conditions are right," Rubio said. "We're prepared to play that role in a positive way."
"I think it is a very bloody war," he added. "I think both sides should have an incentive to bring it to an end. That's been the challenge: an end that both sides can accept, and we've tried, and we'll continue to try to see if we can find a middle ground that brings this about."
Notably, Moscow has repeatedly demanded that the US stop supplying weapons to Ukraine, and walk back its positions to be closer to the "Alaska Understandings."
The "Alaska Understandings" are what the Kremlin asserts is a series of agreements reached last year in Putin's meeting with Trump in Alaska.
Kremlin unoptimistic for peace talks with Ukraine
Notably, the "understandings" involve the US pressuring Ukraine to relinquish control of the Donbas region. Kyiv has repeatedly stated that would be a nonstarter.
While Zelensky said on Wednesday that "a good and important conversation about how to energize diplomacy and bring peace closer," Moscow stated again that, for its part, it was unsure that any progress was being made on peace talks.
After his meeting with Rubio, Lavrov "reaffirmed Russia's readiness for a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict."
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was not overly optimistic about making a peace deal any time soon.
"In this situation, I wouldn’t be too optimistic. Communication is indeed ongoing. This is always a positive thing, but at this point, it wouldn’t be right to talk about any new trends or accelerated efforts," he told Russian state media.
He added that he hoped that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would come to Moscow when they are available, and that Russia would continue dialogue with the US.