US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday in Riyadh as a follow-up to President Donald Trump’s conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 12.
Russia and the United States agreed to establish a process for settling the Ukraine conflict and to remove barriers for diplomatic missions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.
Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov said that Putin was ready to negotiate with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Putin himself has repeatedly stated that, if necessary, he would be ready to negotiate with Zelensky. At the same time, the legal formalization of agreements requires serious discussion, considering the reality that questions the legitimacy of Zelensky himself,” Peskov said to Russian reporters.
He also alleged that Russia was not opposed to Ukraine joining the EU and called it “Kyiv’s sovereign right, as it is not a military alliance.” Still, he noted that “the EU’s plans to create its own army must be closely monitored and conclusions must be drawn.”
Lavorov claimed that the talks were useful and claimed that Russian and American delegations listened to and agreed to create conditions to fully restore cooperation between the two countries
US State Department reactions
The parties agreed to four points, according to the State Department:
Firstly, the parties agreed 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."
Secondly, to "appoint respective 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."
Thirdly, parties will "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."
Finally, "The parties to today’s meetings pledge to remain engaged to make sure the process moves forward in a timely and productive manner."
The State Department clarified that "one phone call followed by one meeting is not sufficient to establish peace. We must take action, and today, we took an important step forward."
US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said there needs to be a permanent end to the Ukraine war, and there will be talks about territory and security guarantees.
President Trump is "determined to move very quickly," Waltz added.
Russian responses to the meetings
Russia wants NATO to disavow its 2008 promise to one day give Ukraine membership of the US-led military alliance, and for Ukraine to agree to neutrality, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.
NATO membership for Ukraine is unacceptable for Russia, but a simple refusal to let it join is also now insufficient for Moscow, she said.
The United States and Russia agreed on Tuesday to address "irritants" to the US-Russia relationship and begin working on a path to end Russia's war in Ukraine, the State Department said, making clear the effort was in its early stages.
The Russian and US delegations have started listening to each other, but it is too early to talk about compromises, Russia's sovereign wealth fund chief Kirill Dmitriev told Reuters after talks ended in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
"I think it is too early to talk about compromises, we can say that the sides started communicating with each other, started listening to each other, started the dialog," Dmitriev said.
Lavrov said on Tuesday that NATO membership for Ukraine was unacceptable, as was the appearance of NATO member troops - even if they were operating there under a different flag.
"We explained to our colleagues today what President (Vladimir) Putin has repeatedly stressed: that the expansion of NATO, the absorption of Ukraine by the North Atlantic alliance, is a direct threat to the interests of the Russian Federation, a direct threat to our sovereignty," Lavrov said.
"We explained today that the appearance of armed forces from the same NATO countries, but under a false flag, under the flag of the European Union or under national flags, does not change anything in this regard. Of course, this is unacceptable to us."
Russian and US officials had a separate discussion on future economic cooperation, including global energy prices, Russia's sovereign wealth fund chief Kirill Dmitriev told Reuters after Russia-US talks in Saudi capital Riyadh.
The State Department and the Russian Foreign Ministry also thanked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for hosting the meetings.