US and Russian officials have agreed to restore embassy staffing and establish a high-level team to negotiate peace in Ukraine – another sign of the significant American change in diplomatic relations with Moscow.
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said the two countries “need to have vibrant diplomatic missions that are able to function normally”. The US and Russia also agreed to explore closer relations and economic cooperation at the meeting.
“Should this conflict come to an acceptable end, the 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,” Mr Rubio said.
He added ending Russia’s war in Ukraine would require concessions from all sides.
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The comments came as talks between Russian and US officials in Saudi Arabia ended – part of a remarkable US policy reversal after years of President Joe Biden leading international efforts to isolate Moscow.
No date has yet to be set for a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump but it is “unlikely” to take place next week, Mr Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said.
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Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said “the conversation was very useful”.
“We not only listened, but also heard each other,” Mr Lavrov said.
“And I have reason to believe that the American side has started to better understand our position, which we have once again outlined in detail, using specific examples, based on President Putin’s repeated speeches.”
US state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce has said even though Ukraine was not at the table on Tuesday, any actual peace negotiations will include the country.
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country will not accept any outcome from this week’s talks if Kyiv does not take part. No Ukrainian officials were present at the meeting.
Ukraine losing ground to Russia
The talks came as Ukraine is slowly but steadily losing ground against more numerous Russian troops in a grinding war that began nearly three years ago.
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.
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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.
European allies left scrambling
Ties between Russia and the US had fallen to their lowest level in decades in recent years – a rift that had been widening since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and worsened after Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
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At that point, the US, along with European nations, imposed a raft of sanctions on Russia and the allies have repeatedly expanded the measures to damage the Russian economy.
But the recent US diplomatic blitz on the war has sent Mr Zelenskyy and key European allies scrambling to ensure a seat at the table amid concerns that Washington and Moscow could press ahead with a deal that will not be favourable to Ukraine.
On Monday, France called an emergency meeting of European Union countries and the UK to discuss the war.
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Saudi Arabia seeks to be diplomatic player
The meeting between the US and Russia on Tuesday 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. Saudi Arabia has also helped in prisoner negotiations and hosted Mr Zelenskyy for an Arab League summit in 2023.
Mr Zelenskyy had been due to travel to Saudi Arabia this week but rescheduled it to 10 March, suggesting he wanted to avoid his visit being linked to the US-Russia talks since Ukrainian officials were not invited.
