US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have spoken over the phone. They likely discussed a planned summit in Hungary between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said the phone call took place on Monday. It said a constructive discussion was held regarding possible concrete steps to implement the understandings reached during the October 16 telephone conversation between Putin and Trump.
The US State Department said in a statement that Rubio spoke with Lavrov to "discuss next steps following the October 16 call."
It said Rubio "emphasized the importance of upcoming engagements as an opportunity for Moscow and Washington to collaborate on advancing a durable resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war, in line with President Trump's vision."
Russian diplomatic sources told NHK that they expect a summit between Trump and Putin to take place in the first half of November, following the US president's trip to Japan and South Korea.
Rubio and Lavrov are expected to make further arrangements for the top leaders' meeting when they meet face-to-face.

Quiz 1:
Who was on a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov?
A. Joe Biden
B. Marco Rubio
C. Mike Pence
D. Nancy Pelosi

Quiz 2:
When is the expected summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin likely to take place?
A. Second half of November
B. First half of October
C. First half of November
D. Second half of October

Quiz 3:
What was one of the main topics discussed during the phone call between Marco Rubio and Sergey Lavrov?
A. The potential summit between Trump and Putin in Hungary
B. The Russia-Ukraine war
C. Climate change policy
D. Middle East peace talks