US, Russia agree to name negotiators for Ukraine peace talks without Kyiv at the table

Washington and Moscow will name teams to negotiate a path to ending the war in Ukraine, the US said, following high-level talks in Saudi Arabia that excluded Kyiv and the EU. However, no details emerged on a potential meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin .

The Riyadh talks marked the first such direct engagement between the superpowers since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, offering Moscow a rare diplomatic opening amid its global isolation.

Some European leaders fear Trump’s shift in US policy could lead to concessions that reshape Europe’s security in a Cold War-style deal between Washington and Moscow.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Kyiv would reject any outcome from the talks if it is not included while European allies also voiced concerns over being sidelined.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed to “appoint respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible”, the State Department said.

Washington added the sides had also agreed to “establish a consultation mechanism” to address “irritants” to Russia and America’s relationship, noting the sides would lay the groundwork for future cooperation.

Russia offered less detail on the outcome of the talks, saying: “We discussed and outlined our principled positions, and agreed that separate teams of negotiators will be in touch on this topic in due course.”

“It is still difficult to talk about a specific date for a meeting between the two leaders,” said Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy aide.

Kremlin calls for NATO pullout as Russia seeks restoration of US ties

Moscow has long called for the withdrawal of NATO forces from Eastern Europe, viewing the alliance as an existential threat on its flank.

“A lasting and long-term viable resolution is impossible without a comprehensive consideration of security issues on the continent,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday, responding to a question by AFP.

Before invading Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow had demanded NATO pull out of central and eastern Europe.

European leaders held an emergency meeting in Paris a day earlier, but struggled to put on a united front.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in Turkey on Tuesday, said on the eve of the talks that he was not invited and would not “recognise any things or any agreements about us without us”.

Isolated by the West for three years, Russia is hoping for a “restoration” of ties with the United States and a comeback to the international arena.

At the Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, negotiations began without visible handshakes.

Rubio: ‘Extraordinary opportunities’ for US-Russia ties

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday after meeting with his Russian counterpart in Riyadh that ties between Washington and Moscow could grow if the Ukraine war ends.

Rubio told reporters that “extraordinary opportunities existed to partner” with Russia, adding that “the key to unlock that is the end to this conflict”.

Rubio said on Tuesday, following a meeting with Russia’s top diplomat, that Washington aiming for a “fair” and “enduring” solution to the Ukraine war.

Speaking in Riyadh following his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Rubio said he was “convinced” that Moscow was willing to engage in a “serious process” to end the war.

Moscow says talks with US ’not bad’, but progress uncertain

Russia said on Tuesday its talks with the United States in Saudi Arabia were “not bad” but that it was difficult to tell whether their positions were getting any closer.

The long-awaited meeting between the two nuclear-armed superpowers came after three years of tensions over the Ukraine conflict, with both sides setting out their approaches to settling the fighting ahead of talks.

“It’s hard to say that they are getting closer, but we have been talking about it,” Kremlin aide and Russian negotiator Yuri Ushakov said when asked about whether Washington’s and Moscow’s positions were converging.

“There was a very serious conversation on all the issues we wanted to touch on.”

He added that it was still not possible to talk about a date for a presidential summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

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 won’t be favorable to them.

Kyiv’s absence at Tuesday’s talks has rankled many Ukrainians, and France called an emergency meeting of European Union countries and the U.K. on Monday to discuss the war.

Rubio said Tuesday that ending Russia’s war in Ukraine would require concessions from all sides and that Europe would be a part of talks.

When asked about sanctions against Russia, Rubio noted that the measures were imposed as a result of Russia’s invasion and that it’s not just the U.S. that has imposed them.

“The European Union is going to have to be at the table at some point because they have sanctions as well that have been imposed,” he said.

Kyiv’s participation in such talks was a bedrock of U.S. policy under Joe Biden, whose administration also led international efforts to isolate Russia over the war.

Saudi Arabia’s role

The meeting at the Diriyah Palace in the Saudi capital of Riyadh also highlights de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s 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 prince’s 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. Zelenskyy said he would travel to the kingdom later this week.

With inputs from agencies