MOSCOW, September 22. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio are expected to hold a meeting in New York on September 23, a senior Russian diplomat told TASS in an interview.

"As far as I know, a meeting between Sergey Lavrov and Marco Rubio is scheduled for September 23," Kirill Logvinov, the Director of the Department of International Organizations of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said ahead of the UNGA High-level Week which will be attended by the Russian delegation led by Lavrov.

When asked about the prospects of Lavrov’s bilateral meetings with other Western officials on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, Logvinov said that "if corresponding requests are received," including from representatives of Western countries, the Russian side will "consider them, taking into account the minister’s agenda in New York." "We have never shied away from meetings," he concluded.

The General Debate of the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) commences in New York on Tuesday. In the coming week, almost 130 global leaders will gather at the headquarters of the global organization to present their countries’ views on key international issues amid the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine and discussions on artificial intelligence and the future of the United Nations itself. The General Debate will run through September 26 and conclude with its final addresses on September 28.