US, Russia agree to improve ties, work on ending Ukraine conflict

RIYADH - The United States and Russia have agreed to work on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine and improve bilateral ties during extensive high-level talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

In the first face-to-face interactions between senior US and Russian officials since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the Russian delegation, led by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the Kremlin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was accompanied by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

Following the four-and-a-half-hour talks, Witkoff described the Riyadh talks as "positive, upbeat, constructive". Ushakov said it was a "very serious discussion of all the issues we wanted to touch upon", noting the two sides agreed to take into account each other's interests and develop bilateral relations.

The United States and Russia agreed to "establish a consultation mechanism to address irritants to our bilateral relationship with the objective of taking steps necessary to normalize the operation of our respective diplomatic missions", according to a statement by the US Department of State.

Washington and Moscow will "appoint respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible in a way that is enduring, sustainable, and acceptable to all sides", the statement said.

The two sides agreed to "lay the groundwork for future cooperation on matters of mutual geopolitical interest and historic economic and investment opportunities which will emerge from a successful end to the conflict in Ukraine", the statement added.

In a press conference following the meeting, Lavrov described the discussions as "very useful", emphasizing Russia's firm stance that the deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine is unacceptable.

This meeting is the latest indication of a thaw in the previously frosty relations between Washington and Moscow since US President Donald Trump took office in January.

Last week, Trump had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that lasted nearly an hour and a half, during which the Russian president extended an invitation for Trump to visit Moscow.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with local media following the phone call that Putin and Trump "agreed quite quickly to coordinate and hold a working meeting somewhere in a third country".

Echoing the Kremlin's comments, Trump said that the call, which focused on negotiations to end the Ukraine crisis, is "lengthy and highly productive".

The phone call between the two presidents has set the wheels in motion for further official exchanges between the two countries.

In a phone call on Saturday, Lavrov and Rubio also agreed to maintain regular contact.

Both sides pledged to keep communication channels open to address accumulated issues in bilateral relations, particularly to "eliminate unilateral obstacles inherited from the previous US administration that hinder mutually beneficial cooperation in trade, economy, and investment", the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The Trump administration is trying to reset tense relations with Moscow," The Wall Street Journal stated in an opinion piece while commenting on the US-Russia meeting in Saudi Arabia.

After the large-scale conflict between Russia and Ukraine erupted, the US government under Joe Biden took a firm stance alongside its European allies, throwing its full support behind Ukraine by providing substantial military aid and isolating Russia on the international stage.

When it comes to potential negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, the mantra once shared by the United States and Europe has been "nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine", emphasizing Ukraine's leading role in any future talks.

The change in the United States' stance on the Ukraine-Russia conflict is occurring against a backdrop of increasing divergence in the understanding of defense cooperation between the United States and Europe.

Washington has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with its European allies for not pulling their weight in defense spending.

"The United States will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependency," US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth declared during the meeting with NATO defense ministers last week, calling on Europe to assume its "own responsibility for its own security".

What has further unsettled the European countries and Ukraine is that the high-profile talks between the United States and Russia excluded both Europe and Ukraine.

In an emergency meeting hastily convened in Paris on the eve of the US-Russia talks, a dozen European leaders reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Ukraine as the United States warms its ties with Russia.

Meanwhile, some European leaders have voiced their frustration regarding their exclusion from the dialogue between the United States and Russia.

"There can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine. The same is true for Europe," said Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans on social media platform X. "Europe must be involved in the negotiations."

Following the Riyadh meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is in Turkiye for a visit, said that the Russia-US talks were "a surprise" to Kyiv, which it "found out through the media".

Zelensky stressed that Turkiye and Europe should be involved in discussions about ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict. "Negotiations should not take place behind our backs," he said, announcing the cancellation of his scheduled visit to Saudi Arabia.

The Ukrainian president has said before that Kyiv would not participate in the US-Russia negotiation and his country will not accept the results of the negotiations that do not involve Ukraine.