Russia and the United States have agreed to establish teams to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine after talks that excluded Kyiv, drawing criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The first high-level official Washington-Moscow talks since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine were held in Riyadh, lasting over four hours.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have agreed to appoint high-level teams to work on ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible. Both sides have also agreed to set up a consultation mechanism to address issues in the US-Russia relationship.
The meeting, which marks a significant diplomatic achievement for Moscow, saw both sides acknowledging the need for European involvement in the negotiations at some point. Russian Foreign Policy Aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed the appointment of negotiating teams but stated that discussing a potential meeting between Trump and Putin was challenging.
While the talks were seen as the beginning of a potentially lengthy process with no immediate breakthrough expected, both sides emphasized the need for concessions to facilitate any progress in the negotiations.
Russia reiterated its stance on not giving up territory seized from Ukraine, while also stating that Ukraine has the right to join the European Union but not the NATO military alliance. President Putin expressed readiness to negotiate with Zelensky if necessary, although he questioned Zelensky’s legitimacy due to his expired term.
Zelensky, on the other hand, was in Turkey for discussions on the conflict with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
