The United States and Russia’s top diplomats have started high-level talks in Saudi Arabia, focusing to initiate negotiations to end the ongoing three-year war in Ukraine and repair the strained relations between the two countries. The talks show US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff engaging with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and senior Putin aide Yuri Ushakov.
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and National Security Adviser Musaed al Alban joined the discussions but are about to leave early. The two sides will aim on ways to end the conflict in Ukraine and restore the relations between the US and Russia. Behind the closed doors, there can also be discussions about setting up a potential meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin . However, Ukraine and European countries have not been invited to the talks at this stage.
The Trump administration has emphasized that this meeting is not to initiate formal negotiations but to determine whether Russia is serious about ending the war in Ukraine. The US aims to gauge Russia’s intentions before proceeding with any potential negotiations. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said, “This is a follow-up on that initial conversation between Putin and President Trump about perhaps if that first step is even possible, what the interests are, if this can be managed”.
While the US and Russia hold talks, European leaders have are in Paris for an emergency summit to agree on a unified strategy in response to Trump’s overtures towards Russia. The European leaders have agreed to increase investment in defense and provide enhanced security guarantees for Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy , who is in Turkey for a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is absent from the talks in Riyadh. Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was not informed about the discussions and cannot accept any agreements made about the country without its participation. Zelenskyy said, “I did not know anything about these talks in Riyadh”. He said, “We cannot recognise any things or any agreements about us without us.”
Zelenskyy is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia the day following the US-Russia negotiations but has no plans to meet with US or Russian officials during his trip, according to his spokesman. Moscow has indicated that both Trump and Putin want to move past the “abnormal relations” that have disturbed their countries’ ties during the Ukraine war.
Comments