By Kylie Atwood and Jennifer Hansler, CNN

(CNN) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio relayed President Donald Trump’s “disappointment and frustration” during a “frank conversation” with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Malaysia on Thursday but new ideas to drive an end to the conflict were also discussed, the top US diplomat told reporters.

The meeting took place in Malaysia on the sidelines of a gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN — putting the Ukraine war center stage on a trip that was meant to focus on strengthening alliances in the region. It came just days after Trump expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin for not engaging in peace talks with Ukraine.

Rubio told reporters after the meeting that he and Lavrov “shared some ideas and comments, which I’ll take back to Washington as early as this evening in terms of calls.” He described what Russia had put forward as a “new and different approach.”

“I echoed what the president said of both disappointment and frustration at the lack of progress in peace talks or in a path forward,” he told reporters.

“We understand that these things take time and patience, but obviously we’re also frustrated that more progress has not been made, and hopefully we, based on today, and in the days to come, we’ll have more clarity about what exactly the Russian position and priorities are in this regard, and can begin to make some progress,” Rubio said.

The secretary of state added the US would “continue to engage all the parties that are involved in finding an outcome to this conflict.”

The meeting comes as Trump reiterated multiple times this week that Ukraine needed defensive weapons after a halt in the weapons flow to the country, directed by the Pentagon, set off confusion about continued US military support for Ukraine.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth did not inform the White House before he gave the green light to pause shipments of weapons to Ukraine last week and the move also caught Rubio off guard, CNN reported. Shortly after the halt Trump said at least some of the weapons shipments would continue.

“Putin is not — he’s not treating human beings right,” Trump said of his Russian counterpart on Tuesday. “He’s killing too many people.”

“So we’re sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine, and I’ve approved that,” Trump said.

Trump also criticized Putin sharply, saying he has offered a lot of “bullsh*t” which has proved to be “meaningless.”

Rubio said Thursday the pause in US weapons shipments to Ukraine had been “mischaracterized,” calling it “a very limited review of certain types of munitions to ensure that we had sufficient stockpiles.”

“No policy decision was made. In essence, no one ever said we’re not sending weapons to Ukraine. That’s been appropriated by Congress, and that’s continued, and that continues to this very day,” he continued. “But when you’re doing a review, there’s some period of time in which during that review, it’s possible that some shipping is slowed down, not stopped, but because it’s being reviewed.”

“It was a pause pending review on a handful of specific type munitions that, frankly, is something that is logical that you would do, especially after an extended engagement that we saw, both in defense of Israel and in defense of our own bases,” Rubio said.

The US is “actively” talking to countries in Europe about sharing Patriot batteries with Ukraine, Rubio added.

“There are other Patriot batteries and there are other opportunities. Countries that have ordered Patriot batteries that are about to receive shipments of them, it’d be great if one of them volunteered to defer that shipment and send it to Ukraine instead,” he also told reporters

Following Trump’s comments, Russia launched its largest drone assault to date on Ukraine with more than 700 drones, according to Ukraine’s Air Force.

This was the second time that Rubio had met Lavrov, the first being in Saudi Arabia earlier this year. The two have talked on the phone multiple times in recent months as the US pushed for a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia that never came to fruition.

Rubio did not have a scheduled meeting on Friday with his Russian counterpart, but he proactively sought out Lavrov at a meeting of all ASEAN foreign ministers. They briefly spoke one-on-one, concluding the interaction with a handshake.

Throughout the first few months of his second term, Trump sought a more conciliatory tone with Putin, aimed at drawing him into agreeing to end the Ukraine war. Now, as Russia’s assault on Ukraine continues, Trump’s anger is public, setting up a potentially tense meeting between Rubio and Lavrov.

Trump’s tariffs add complexity to Rubio’s Asia trip

Rubio is also meeting his ASEAN counterparts during the gathering in Kuala Lumpur just days after Trump declared that many of the countries will be subject to US tariffs in less than a month unless they strike trade deals.

The tariffs added a layer of complexity to Rubio’s first trip to Asia as Trump’s top diplomat. Eight of the 10 counties in ASEAN — along with South Korea and Japan, which will have delegations in Kuala Lumpur — will face tariffs from the US on August 1, if the implementation deadline holds.

Trump began announcing plans for the tariffs in letters to several of the nations that he posted on social media the day before Rubio’s departure.

The president has made clear that trade and economics are a centerpiece of his foreign policy. Even though Rubio is not Trump’s top trade negotiator, Trump administration officials expected him to face many questions and frustrations about the tariffs in his meetings, one senior administration official said.

Rubio signaled early this year that he intended to shore up alliances in Asia to focus on the challenge posed by China: he met with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and India as his first diplomatic engagement as Secretary of State.

His trip to Asia was set to reassure the region of the US commitment as they are on the frontlines of China’s increasingly aggressive posture.

“In his first trip to Asia as secretary of state, Secretary Rubio is focused on reaffirming the United States commitment to advancing a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific region,” said Tammy Bruce, the State Department spokeswoman.

Rubio suggested he may also meet with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the margins of the ASEAN ministers’ meeting in Malaysia.

The top US diplomat said that if they meet, they will “obviously” talk about Russia’s war against Ukraine.

“The Chinese clearly have been supportive of the Russian effort, and I think that generally, they’ve been willing to help them as much as they can without getting caught. But people in Europe and other parts of the world have noticed,” he said.

Asia has not been at the top of his agenda throughout Rubio’s first six months on the job, while the Middle East, Ukraine and South America have consumed most of his time. Even this trip to the region only includes one stop, with Rubio spending the earlier part of the week at the White House for meetings with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But Rubio, speaking earlier Thursday alongside his ASEAN counterparts, said it is “impossible” for the US to ignore the Indo-Pacific region, pushing back on the notion that other regions have consumed America’s attention in recent months.

“When I hear in the news that perhaps the United States or the world might be distracted by events in other parts of the planet, I would say distraction is impossible,” Rubio said. “It is our view, our strong view, and our reality, that this century and the next, the story of next 50 years, will largely be written here in this region, in this part of the world.”

The story and headline have been updated with additional details.

CNN’s Shania Shelton contributed to this report.

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