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Russia and the US agree to work toward improving ties and ending the
Ukraine war in landmark talks

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country wonÆt accept any outcome
from this weekÆs talks if Kyiv doesnÆt take part.

Feb. 18, 2025


U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, second left, meets with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Saudi National Security Advisor Mosaad bin Mohammad Al-Aiban, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz,
third left, U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, left, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, and Russian President Vladimir PutinÆs
foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, second right, at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday Feb. 18, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo
via AP)
By Matthew Lee And Dasha Litvinova The Associated Press

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) ù Russia and the U.S. agreed Tuesday to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties, the two countriesÆ top diplomats said after talks that reflected an extraordinary about-face in U.S. foreign policy under
President Donald Trump.

In an interview with The Associated Press after the meeting, U.S. Secretary
of State Marco Rubio said the two sides agreed broadly to pursue three
goals: to restore staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow, to create a high-level team to support Ukraine peace talks and to explore closer relations and economic cooperation.

He stressed, however, that the talks ù which were attended by his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and other senior Russian and U.S. officials ù marked the beginning of a conversation, and more work needs to be done.

Lavrov echoed RubioÆs remarks and told reporters that ôthe conversation was very useful.ö

ôWe not only listened, but also heard each other,ö he said.

TrumpÆs national security adviser, Michael Waltz, and special Mideast envoy Steven Witkoff joined Rubio at the table, along with Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir PutinÆs foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov.

No Ukrainian officials were present at the meeting, which came as the beleaguered country is slowly but steadily losing ground against more
numerous Russian troops in a grinding war that began nearly three years
ago.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country would not accept
any outcome from the talks since Kyiv didnÆt take part, and he postponed
his own trip to the kingdom scheduled for Wednesday.

European allies have also expressed concerns that they are being sidelined.

Improving Russian-US relations

Ties between Russia and the U.S. have fallen to their lowest level in
decades in recent years ù a rift that has been widening ever since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and only worsened after MoscowÆs full- scale invasion.

The U.S., along with European nations, imposed a raft of sanctions on
Russia in an effort to damage its economy. And embassies in Washington and Moscow have been hit hard by expulsions of large numbers of diplomats, as
well as other restrictions.

Rubio said Tuesday that ending the war in Ukraine could ôunlock the doorö
for ôincredible opportunities that exist to partner with the Russians geopolitically on issues of common interest and, frankly, economically on issues that hopefully will be good for the world and also improve our relations in the long term.ö

His comments were further evidence of the remarkable U.S. reversal on
Russia after years in which TrumpÆs predecessor, Joe Biden, led
international efforts to isolate Moscow.

TuesdayÆs meeting was meant to pave the way for a summit between Trump and Putin. After the talks ended, Ushakov and Waltz said no date has been set
yet for that summit. Ushakov told Russian television that a meeting was ôunlikelyö to take place next week, while Waltz said he thought it could be arranged in the coming weeks.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Lavrov mentioned the same three
goals as Rubio and said that Washington and Moscow agreed to appoint representatives to carry out ôregular consultationsö on Ukraine.

ôI have reason to believe that the American side has started to better understand our positionö the Russian foreign minister said.

Witkoff said the meeting was ôpositive, upbeat, constructive. Everybody was there to get to the right outcome.ö

The meeting marked the most extensive contact between the two countries
since MoscowÆs Feb. 24, 2022, invasion. Lavrov and then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talked briefly on the sidelines of a G-20 meeting in India nearly two years ago, but tensions remained high.

Concerns from allies they are being sidelined

The recent U.S. diplomatic blitz on the war has sent Ukraine and key allies scrambling to ensure a seat at the table amid concerns that Washington and Moscow could press ahead with a deal that wonÆt be favorable to them.

KyivÆs absence at TuesdayÆs talks rankled many Ukrainians, and France
called an emergency meeting of European Union countries and the U.K. on
Monday to discuss the war. KyivÆs participation in such talks was a bedrock
of U.S. policy under Biden.

Rubio said Tuesday that ending the conflict would require concessions from
all sides and that Europe would play a part ù noting that they have also imposed sanctions on Russia. He said Washington ôis not going to
predetermineö would those concessions would be.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week that NATO membership for Ukraine was unrealistic and suggested Kyiv should abandon hopes of winning
all its territory back from Russia ù two key items on PutinÆs wish list.

Waltz said ôthe practical reality is that there is going to be some
discussion of territory, and thereÆs going to be a discussion of security guarantees.ö

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said he spoke by phone to Trump and Zelenskyy following MondayÆs European meeting.

ôWe seek a strong and lasting peace in Ukraine,ö Macron wrote on social
media platform X. ôTo achieve this, Russia must end its aggression, and
this must be accompanied by strong and credible security guarantees for the Ukrainians,ö he said and vowed to ôwork on this together with all
Europeans, Americans, and Ukrainians.ö

Saudi ArabiaÆs role

The meeting at the Diriyah Palace in the Saudi capital of Riyadh also highlighted de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin SalmanÆs efforts to
be a major diplomatic player, burnishing a reputation severely tarnished by the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Saudi state media described the talks as happening at the princeÆs
direction. Like the neighboring United Arab Emirates, the prince has maintained close relations to Russia throughout its war on Ukraine, both through the OPEC+ oil cartel and diplomatically as well.

Saudi Arabia has also helped in prisoner negotiations and hosted Zelenskyy
for an Arab League summit in 2023.

But Zelenskyy postponed his own trip to Saudi Arabia scheduled for this
week, suggesting that he wanted to avoid his visit being linked to the
talks since Ukrainian officials werenÆt invited. He visit was rescheduled
for March 10.

War continues

Meanwhile, Russia continued to pummel Ukraine with drones, according to
KyivÆs military. The Ukrainian air force said Russian troops launched a barrage of 176 drones at Ukraine overnight, most of which were destroyed or disabled by jamming.

One Russian drone struck a residential building in Dolynska in the
Kirovohrad region, wounding a mother and her two children and prompting an evacuation of 38 apartments, the regional administration reported. Four
more residential buildings were damaged by drone debris in the Cherkasy
region of Ukraine, according to local officials.
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