US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia for the first high-level consultation between the two countries three years ago since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, along with other senior officials, met at the Dyriya Palace in Riyadh on Tuesday morning. The talks discussed the possibility of finding a way to end the war in Ukraine, with neither Kiev nor European representatives involved.
The absence of Ukrainian or European officials in consultations that took place for more than four hours under US President Donald Trump, who suggested that US aid to Ukraine could end and that Kiev would likely have to do so. We have confirmed shocking changes in US foreign policy. territory.
Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov told Russian state television that the talks were “serious,” but it was difficult to tell whether Moscow and Washington’s positions had been resolved.
“We discussed and outlined the principle position and agreed to another team of negotiators contacting this topic,” he said.
According to a US statement, the two countries agreed to deal with the “stimulants” of relations and negotiate with their teams to “end the Ukrainian conflict.”
A spokesperson said the process remains in its early stages, “one call followed by one call is not sufficient to establish lasting peace.”
Ushakov said that a meeting between Trump and Putin was mentioned, but the date was not agreed. He noted that the meeting will be held next week is “impossible.”
Reported from Moscow, Al Jazeera’s Julia Shapovarova said that neither the US nor Russia expects a rapid breakthrough, but that “there is not just skepticism, but there is a lot of optimism in the air.”
Ukraine demands “security guarantee”
Ukrainian President Voldymi Zelenki said Kiev was left in the dark about the talks.
He said he would not accept the agreements his country reached in its absence and would require “specific security guarantees” from the US and Europe.
“Under any circumstances, we will never recognize a temporarily occupied territory as part of Russia,” he was quoted as saying by Turkish provincial media. “They are part of Ukraine.”
The Kremlin said Putin was serious about negotiating a settlement to end the war and liked to do so peacefully.
However, spokesman Dmitry Peskov argued that without a “comprehensive consideration of security issues” in Europe, a viable and long-term settlement would not be possible.
Peskov also recognized Ukraine’s right to join the European Union, but said Moscow has a “completely different position” regarding military alliances such as NATO.
In other words, NATO should completely deny its 2008 promise to be granted membership at some point in Ukraine, said Mariazaharova, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Russia is hoping to “progress” with the US beyond Ukraine and “progress” on economic issues, said Kiril Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund.
“We have a set of suggestions that my colleagues have been thinking about. The Sovereign Wealth Fund Manager told state television.
The Russian economy has been suppressed since the Ukraine invasion due to sanctions imposed by the US and the EU.
Russian drone attack
The talks will arise as Ukraine could steadily defeat Russia’s massive troops in the shattering of the Three Years’ War, and pushing US support towards an unfavourable reconciliation.
Prior to Tuesday’s debate, Russian forces launched a barrage of 176 drones in Ukraine, according to Kiev’s army. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that most of the drones were destroyed or invalidated by obstruction.
The Russian drone struck a residential building in Dorinska, in the Kirovolad region of Ukraine, injuring her mother and her two children, and urged the evacuation of 38 apartments, the local government reported. Four more home constructions have been damaged by drone debris in the Cherkassy area, local officials said.
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