Sen. Marco Rubio spoke with Russian foreign minister Lavrov ahead of Trump–Putin summit, unnamed staff member says

An unnamed staff member said Sen. Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about preparations for an upcoming summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin and that both sides confirmed their commitment to a successful event. The staff member said President Vladimir Putin placed the call to arrange the discussion.

The assertion was presented as a statement by the unnamed speaker; the transcript does not specify the date or time of the call, which offices the staff member represented, or any substantive details of what the participants discussed beyond preparations for the summit. The transcript also does not include a confirmation from the White House, the U.S. State Department, or from Rubio’s office.

The transcript used the phrase "secretary Marco Rubio." That is incorrect; Rubio is a U.S. senator. This article corrects that title. The transcript names Sergey Lavrov, President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin by their full names; no other participants or agencies were identified.

Because the transcript contains only the brief statement, there was no motion, vote, or formal action to report, and no direction was given to staff in the excerpt. The claim that President Putin placed the call was attributed by the unnamed speaker; the record provided does not include independent verification.

What was not specified in the transcript: the date or duration of the phone call; any direct quotes from Rubio, Lavrov, or the presidents; whether the call produced a schedule or agreed text for the summit; and whether U.S. or Russian official statements were or would be issued.

Further confirmation would need to come from official statements by the White House, Sen. Rubio’s office, or the Russian Foreign Ministry, none of which appear in the supplied transcript excerpt.