POLITICS

Rubio will meet Russian foreign minister in Malaysia with Ukraine tensions high

Jul 9, 2025, 8:05 PM | Updated: Jul 10, 2025, 3:36 am

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, front, arrives at Subang Air Base, outside of Kuala Lumpur Thu...

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, front, arrives at Subang Air Base, outside of Kuala Lumpur Thursday, July 10, 2025. Rubio arrived in Malaysia to attend the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting. (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart will meet Thursday in Malaysia for what could be a testy conversation as tensions between the countries rise over Moscow’s increasing attacks on Ukraine and questions about whether Russia’s leader is serious about a peace deal.

Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are to see each other in Kuala Lumpur, where both men are attending the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, which brings together all 10 ASEAN members and their most important diplomatic partners, including Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, the Europeans and the U.S.

The meeting is set to take place shortly after the U.S. resumed some shipments of defensive weapons to Ukraine following a pause — ostensibly for the Pentagon to review domestic munitions stocks — that was cheered in Moscow.

The resumption comes as Russia fires escalating air attacks on Ukraine and as President Donald Trump has become increasingly frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Putin is not, he’s not treating human beings right,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, explaining the pause’s reversal. “It’s killing too many people. So we’re sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine, and I’ve approved that.”

A US diplomatic push could be overshadowed by tariff threats

Rubio will also see other foreign ministers, including many whose countries face tariffs set to be imposed on Aug. 1. That threat could overshadow the top diplomat’s first official trip to Asia, just as the U.S. seeks to boost relations with Indo-Pacific nations to counter China’s growing influence in the region.

Trump notified several countries on Monday and Wednesday that they will face higher tariffs if they don’t make trade deals with the U.S. Among them are eight of ASEAN’s 10 members.

State Department officials said tariffs and trade will not be Rubio’s focus during the meetings, which Trump’s Republican administration hopes will prioritize maritime safety and security in the South China Sea, where China has become increasingly aggressive toward its small neighbors, as well as combating transnational crime.

But Rubio may be hard-pressed to avoid the tariff issue that has vexed some of America’s closest allies and partners in Asia, including Japan and South Korea and most members of ASEAN, which Trump says would face 25% tariffs if there is no deal.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has warned that global trade is being weaponized as U.S. tariffs loom over Southeast Asia. Speaking at an ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting on Wednesday, Anwar urged the bloc to strengthen regional trade and reduce reliance on external powers.

Rubio’s “talking points on the China threat will not resonate with officials whose industries are being battered by 30-40% tariffs,” said Danny Russel, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute and a former assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific during the Obama administration.

When Anwar said “ASEAN will approach challenges ‘as a united bloc’ — he wasn’t talking about Chinese coercion but about U.S. tariffs,” Russel noted.

8 of ASEAN’s 10 members face major tariff hikes

Among ASEAN states, Trump has so far announced tariffs on almost all of the 10 members of the bloc, which would face a 25% tariff that could specifically hit its electronics and electrical product exports to the United States.

Trade Minister Zafrul Aziz said Wednesday that while Malaysia is ready to resume tariff negotiations, it would not cross its red lines, including U.S. requests for changes to government procurement, halal certification, medical standards and digital taxes.

Trump sent tariff letters to two more ASEAN members Wednesday: Brunei, whose imports would be taxed at 25%, and the Philippines, at 20%.

Vietnam recently agreed to a trade deal for 20% tariffs on its imports, while Singapore wasn’t part of Trump’s original April 2 tariffs. Both are ASEAN countries. The Trump administration has courted most Southeast Asian nations in a bid to blunt or at least temper China’s push to dominate the region.

In Kuala Lumpur, Rubio also will likely come face-to-face with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his brief visit of roughly 36 hours.

Russel noted that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is a veteran of such gatherings and “fluent in ASEAN principles and conventions,” while Rubio “is a rookie trying to sell an ‘America First’ message to a deeply skeptical audience.”

Issues with China, including on trade, human rights, the militarization of the South China Sea and China’s support for Russia in Ukraine, remain substantial.

U.S. officials continue to accuse China of resupplying and revamping Russia’s military industrial sector, allowing it to produce additional weapons that it can use attack Ukraine.

___

Associated Press writer Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.

Politics

FILE - People wait outside of Glass House Farms, a day after an immigration raid on the facility, F...

Associated Press

Appeals court keeps order blocking Trump administration from indiscriminate immigration sweeps

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled Friday night to uphold a lower court’s temporary order blocking the Trump administration from conducting indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests in Southern California. A three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held a hearing Monday afternoon at which the federal government asked the […]

1 hour ago

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of ...

Associated Press

After a reference to Trump’s impeachments is removed from a history museum, complex questions echo

NEW YORK (AP) — It would seem the most straightforward of notions: A thing takes place, and it goes into the history books or is added to museum exhibits. But whether something even gets remembered and how — particularly when it comes to the history of a country and its leader — is often the […]

3 hours ago

Anthony Matesic works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, July 14, 202...

Associated Press

It’s Trump’s economy now. The latest financial numbers offer some warning signs

WASHINGTON (AP) — For all of President Donald Trump’s promises of an economic “golden age,” a spate of weak indicators this week told a potentially worrisome story as the impacts of his policies are coming into focus. Job gains are dwindling. Inflation is ticking upward. Growth has slowed compared to last year. More than six […]

3 hours ago

Dr. Wafaa Alrashid, center, whose husband, Rami Othmane, a Tunisian musician, is detained at the U....

Associated Press

A Tunisian musician was detained in LA after living in US for a decade. His doctor wife speaks out

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dr. Wafaa Alrashid noticed fewer of her patients were showing up for their appointments at the Los Angeles area hospital where she works as immigration raids spread fear among the Latino population she serves. The Utah-born chief medical officer at Huntington Hospital understood their fear on a personal level. Her husband […]

3 hours ago

Michael Tinney, an investor in First Liberty Building & Loan, discusses his likely investment losse...

Associated Press

How an alleged Ponzi scheme targeting Republicans left investors and politicians reeling

CEDARTOWN, Ga. (AP) — A federal receiver is on the hunt to recover $140 million lost in an alleged Ponzi scheme that benefited some Republicans in the top ranks of their party in Georgia and Alabama. He’s looking to claw back funds, including almost 1,000 political donations totaling more than $1 million, that often backed […]

3 hours ago

FILE - A stuffed Cookie Monster is seated in a control room at the Arizona PBS offices at the Walte...

Associated Press

Not just Big Bird: Things to know about the Center for Public Broadcasting and its funding cuts

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps pay for PBS, NPR, 1,500 local radio and television stations as well as programs like “Sesame Street” and “Finding Your Roots,” said Friday that it would close after the U.S. government withdrew funding. The organization told employees that most staff positions will end with the fiscal year on […]

6 hours ago

Rubio will meet Russian foreign minister in Malaysia with Ukraine tensions high