U.S. and Russia agree on teams to end Ukraine conflict
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed to form teams aimed at swiftly ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce announced on Tuesday. They also agreed to cooperate on matters of shared geopolitical interest.
On Tuesday, a high-level meeting took place in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, between delegations from the United States and Russia, led by Marco Rubio and Sergey Lavrov.
"One phone call followed by one meeting is not sufficient to establish enduring peace. We must take action, and today we took an important step forward," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce emphasized after Tuesday's talks and a previous phone conversation between President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
The spokesperson reported that Rubio and Lavrov agreed to establish teams aimed at swiftly ending Russia’s war in Ukraine. A consultative mechanism will also be created to address sensitive issues in U.S.-Russia relations.
The politicians also agreed to cooperate on economic and investment opportunities that will arise with the end of the war in Ukraine. Both countries plan to collaborate on matters of shared geopolitical interest.
At the conference following the meeting, Marco Rubio also stated that the European Union must be at the table at some point, as it too has imposed sanctions on Russia. The U.S. Secretary of State rejected suggestions that Europe was left out of the negotiations, emphasizing that the outcome must be acceptable to Ukraine, Russia, and the European Union.
"The goal is to bring an end to this conflict in a way that's fair, enduring, sustainable and acceptable to all parties involved," Rubio said. Meanwhile, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz noted that consultations with America's allies and Ukraine are happening "daily," though he also emphasized that the U.S. intends to act swiftly to bring the conflict to an end.
Expectations were tempered before the meeting
Before the meeting, both sides stressed that they did not expect specific agreements in Riyadh. Tammy Bruce stated that the discussion would essentially be "a follow up to President Donald Trump’s conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin," aimed at seeing if they can move forward and see what's possible. She underscored that Washington primarily wants to see if the Russians are serious about wanting to resume dialogue.
Meanwhile, Russian presidential advisor Yuri Ushakov said that Moscow and Washington have yet to agree on how to start negotiations regarding the war in Ukraine, and the Russian delegation is approaching the talks with a "business" attitude.
Neither Ukraine nor the European Union received an invitation to the talks, which sparked outrage in both Kyiv and most European capitals. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared that he would not recognize the outcome of the talks in Riyadh, as any negotiations concerning Ukraine are futile without Ukraine.
However, U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg assured on Monday that no one will impose a peace agreement with Russia on Zelensky, and it will be the President of Ukraine and the country's people who will decide on peace with Russia.
