BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- High-level delegations from the United States and Russia met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, agreeing to work toward ending the three-year Russia-Ukraine conflict and restoring bilateral relations.
It marked the first face-to-face interaction between senior U.S. and Russian officials since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis in February 2022. It was closely watched worldwide for its potential impact and whether it could pave the way for peace in Ukraine.
WHAT DID THEY AGREE ON?
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov led the delegations. The Kremlin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff also attended the meeting.
After the meeting, Witkoff described the discussions as "positive, upbeat, and constructive," while Ushakov called them a "serious discussion of all key issues."
The meeting lasted about 4.5 hours and followed a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin last week. During the call, they discussed immediately engaging in direct negotiations to end the Ukraine crisis.
According to a statement from the U.S. State Department, both sides agreed in the meeting to establish a consultation mechanism to "address irritants" in their bilateral relationship and work toward normalizing diplomatic operations.
High-level teams will be appointed to begin "working on a path" to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible.
They also agreed to "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," according to the statement.
Lavrov said Tuesday the meeting was "very useful."
"We not only listened but also heard each other," he said.
Both sides agreed to form a special working group to hold comprehensive discussions on the Ukraine issue, Ushakov told Channel One Russia after the meeting.
"We have agreed to consider each other's interests and develop bilateral relations, as both Moscow and Washington are invested in this," he added.
WHAT ABOUT THE GLOBAL RESPONSE?
Neither Ukrainian nor European leaders were invited to Tuesday's high-profile talks in Riyadh, sparking speculation that they might be marginalized in a potential peace deal.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in Türkiye at the time, said that the Russia-U.S. talks were "a surprise" to Kiev, which it "found out through the media."
He stressed that efforts to end the war must be "fair" and involve European nations, including Türkiye.
"Negotiations should not take place behind our backs," said Zelensky, who postponed his scheduled visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said he was "disappointed" by Ukraine's frustration over not being on the negotiation table. "I hear that they're upset about not having a seat. Well, they've had a seat for three years and a long time before that. This could have been settled very easily," he said.
Ahead of the U.S.-Russia talks, France convened an emergency meeting of European Union and British officials on Monday, where they reiterated their support for Kiev amid renewed diplomatic engagement between Washington and Moscow.
"Ukraine should have confidence in us. It is clear that we should continue to support Ukraine," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said after the meeting.
European leaders have already been grappling with a weekend that cast doubt on their long-standing reliance on the United States for support, highlighted at the Munich Security Conference.
On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron posted on the social media platform X that he had spoken seperately with Zelensky and Trump after the gathering.
"We seek a strong and lasting peace in Ukraine," he wrote. "We will work on this together with all Europeans, Americans, and Ukrainians. This is the key."
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday that China welcomes all peace efforts to solve the Ukraine crisis, including the talks between the United States and Russia, and China hopes that all parties and stakeholders can participate in the peace talks.
WILL THE MEETING BRING PEACE?
Amid growing divisions between the United States and Europe, and with Ukraine and European leaders absent from Riyadh, it remains uncertain whether and how the meeting will lead to the conflict's end.
Zelensky said previously that Kiev would not accept the results of the negotiations that did not involve Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Waltz called it "common sense" that Ukraine would have a voice in the negotiations. "If you're going to bring both sides together, you have to talk to both sides," he said.
He added that U.S. allies "are being consulted, literally, almost on a daily basis, and we'll continue to do so."
Rubio told reporters in Riyadh that the EU must be involved at some stage, emphasizing that "no one is being sidelined here."
"In order for a conflict to end, everyone in that conflict has to be okay with it. It has to be acceptable to them," Rubio said.
On Monday, a British government spokesperson confirmed that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet with Trump in Washington next week to discuss a "wide range of issues."
The prime minister announced Sunday that he is "ready and willing" to deploy British troops to Ukraine to help guarantee its security.
After the meeting in Riyadh, Trump said he was "much more confident" that the conflict would end.
After the phone call with Putin last week, Trump indicated that the two could meet in Saudi Arabia. On Tuesday, he said the meeting might happen this month. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday said Putin and Trump could meet as early as this month. ■
