Russia and US agree to work toward ending Ukraine war in a remarkable diplomatic shift

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — 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 countries’ 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 — which were attended by his Russian 
counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and other senior Russian and U.S. officials — 
marked the beginning of a conversation, and more work needs to be done.

Lavrov echoed Rubio’s remarks and told reporters that “the conversation 
was very useful.”

“We not only listened, but also heard each other,” he said.

Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Waltz, and special Mideast 
envoy Steven Witkoff joined Rubio at the table, along with Lavrov and 
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 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 didn’t 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 — a rift that has been widening ever since Russia 
illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and only worsened after 
Moscow’s 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 “unlock the door” 
for “incredible 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.”

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

Tuesday’s 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 
“unlikely” 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 “regular consultations” on Ukraine.

“I have reason to believe that the American side has started to better 
understand our position” the Russian foreign minister said.

Witkoff said the meeting was “positive, upbeat, constructive. Everybody 
was there to get to the right outcome.”

The meeting marked the most extensive contact between the two countries 
since Moscow’s 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 won’t be 
favorable to them.

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

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said the talks were aimed at 
determining how serious the Russians are about achieving peace and whether 
detailed negotiations can start.

Rubio said Tuesday that there would be “engagement and consultation with 
Ukraine, with our partners in Europe and others. But ultimately, the 
Russian side will be indispensable to this effort.”

Rubio also said ending the conflict would require concessions from all 
sides and that Washington “is not going to predetermine” 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 — two key items on Putin’s wish 
list.

Waltz said “the practical reality is that there is going to be some 
discussion of territory, and there’s going to be a discussion of security 
guarantees.”

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

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

Saudi Arabia’s role
The meeting at the Diriyah Palace in the Saudi capital of Riyadh also 
highlighted 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.

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 weren’t invited. He visit was rescheduled 
for March 10.

War continues
Meanwhile, Russia continued to pummel Ukraine with drones, according to 
Kyiv’s 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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