Following discussions that drew a strong rebuke from Kyiv over its exclusion, Russia and the United States agreed on Tuesday to form teams to work together to end the conflict in Ukraine.
Following the first high-level official Washington-Moscow discussions since the Ukrainian invasion of 2022, Washington noted that European countries would “at some point have a seat at the table.”
Some European leaders, alarmed by President Donald Trump’s overhaul of US policy on Russia, fear Washington will make serious concessions to Moscow and re-write the continent’s security arrangement in a Cold War-style deal.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, criticized his country’s participation in the more than four-hourlong gathering in Riyadh.
He said that any talks aimed at ending the war should be “fair” and involve European countries, including Turkey — which offered to host negotiations.
“This will only be feeding Putin’s appetite”, a Ukrainian senior official requesting anonymity told AFP, referring to the launch of talks without Ukraine.
According to the US State Department, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio “agreed to nominate respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the Ukrainian conflict as soon as possible.”
Washington added that 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.
Yuri Ushakov, President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy aide, confirmed the negotiating teams ‘ appointment but said it was “difficult” to discuss a date for a potential Trump-Putin meeting.
– ‘ Heard each other ‘ –
Moscow, which had been affixed to the US for three years under the then-president’s Joe Biden administration, is at the forefront of this important diplomatic coup.
Moscow’s economic negotiator, Kirill Dmitriev, said Western attempts to isolate Russia had “obviously failed”, revelling in the talks.
We “did not just listen but actually heard one another,” Lavrov told reporters, “And I have reason to believe the American side has better understood our position.”
Russia, according to the veteran diplomat, opposed any eventual ceasefire deployment of NATO-led forces to Ukraine.
This week, European allies publicly disagreed on whether to send peacekeepers to Ukraine in response to the question.
Keir Starmer, the prime minister of the UK, stated that he was interested in committing British soldiers.
French President Emmanuel Macron stated in a regional newspaper on Tuesday that Paris was considering sending “experts or even troops in limited terms, outside any conflict zone” even though it was not “preparing to send ground troops, which are belligerent to the conflict, to the front.”
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that any debate on the matter was “completely premature”.
Following an urgent meeting on Monday in Paris, which brought together a small number of important European nations, Macron declared he would hold a second round of discussions with European and non-European countries on Wednesday.
Russia argued that reorganizing Europe’s defense agreements was necessary in order to resolve the war.
Moscow has long demanded that NATO forces leave eastern Europe, citing the alliance as a threat to Moscow’s standing.
Moscow had demanded that NATO leave of central and eastern Europe before the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
On Tuesday, Rubio acknowledged that Europe would need to be involved at some point and had briefed key European ministers about the talks in Riyadh.
Rubio told them, “The European Union will have to be at the table at some point because they have sanctions as well,” adding that there are other parties.
– ‘ How to start negotiations ‘ –
The negotiations at Riyadh’s Diriyah Palace in Riyadh began without visible handshakes.
The meeting on Tuesday was seen by Russia and the United States as the start of a potentially lengthy process, downplaying any chance of a breakthrough.
Trump has stated his desire to end Ukraine’s war, but he has not so far provided no concrete strategy.
If any negotiations turn out to be successful, concessions will need to be made by both parties.
Russia claimed on the summit’s eve that it had no way of giving up the territory it had seized from Ukraine.
The Kremlin on Tuesday said that Ukraine had the “right” to join the European Union, but not the NATO military alliance.
It also said Putin was “ready” to negotiate with Zelensky “if necessary”,
But it again questioned his “legitimacy” — a reference to his five-year term expiring last year, despite Ukrainian law not requiring elections during wartime.
Source: Channels TV
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