United States: Officials from the United States and Russia conducted talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday about the future of Ukraine, but no Ukrainian representation was involved.
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The State Department declared the talks centered on achieving permanent peace, ending a three-year-long war that began when Russia fully invaded its neighbor in 2022 after continuous attacks from Russia since 2014.
The Riyadh meeting between the nations lasted five hours until its conclusion, according to press reports, while State Department representatives characterized the talks as “an important step forward” toward “enduring peace.”
The talks between Russia and the United States return diplomatic relations, which have gone without senior-level discussions for approximately three years since Joe Biden met Vladimir Putin in Geneva before Russia launched its Ukraine invasion, ABC News reported.
Delegations for the talk
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, along with Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, steered the US delegation during meetings.
The Russian delegation consisted of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov alongside Kirill Dmitriev, who leads the Russian sovereign wealth fund.
Furthermore, the State Department spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, mentioned that the US team okayed 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,” ABC News reported.
Rubio disclosed to the Associated Press that both nations worked toward completing embassy repopulation as a guideline for normalization.
During his Turkish visit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy affirmed that Russia had returned to the former invasion period, which was demanded during the initial Moscow peace negotiations.
The two sides also agreed to appoint “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,” Bruce said.
Additionally, it is important 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 parties to today’s meetings pledge to remain engaged to make sure the process moves forward in a timely and productive manner,” Bruce noted.
However, Zelenskyy made a statement at the Ukrainian embassy in Ankara: “I have the impression that there are now some negotiations happening, and they are in the same mood, but between Russia and the United States.”