Russia-Ukraine war: Russia, US to name negotiators on ending Ukraine war

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised Ukraine’s exclusion from the talks in Riyadh.
• Russia and the US agreed to establish teams to negotiate ending the Ukraine war.
• European nations are expected to join negotiations later, amid concerns about potential concessions to Russia.

Russia and the United States have agreed to establish teams to negotiate a path to ending the war in Ukraine after talks that drew a strong rebuke from Kyiv over its exclusion.

Washington noted European nations would have to have a seat at the negotiating table “at some point”, following the first high-level official Washington-Moscow talks since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met in Saudi Arabia for talks on resetting the countries' fractured relations and possibly paving the way to ending the Ukraine war. Photo / AFP

Some European leaders, alarmed by US President Donald Trump’s overhaul of US policy on Russia, fear Washington will make serious concessions to Moscow and rewrite the continent’s security arrangement in a Cold War-style deal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slammed his nation’s exclusion from the Riyadh gathering, which lasted for more than four hours.

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.

US and Russian officials met at Riyadh's Diriyah Palace. Photo / Russian Foreign Ministry

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed to “appoint respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible”, the State Department said.

Washington added 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’

The meeting marks a major diplomatic coup for Moscow, which had been isolated for three years under the previous US administration of President Joe Biden.

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 heard each other, and I have reason to believe the American side has better understood our position,” Lavrov told reporters.

The veteran diplomat noted Russia opposed any deployment of Nato-nation troops to Ukraine as part of an eventual ceasefire.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the inauguration of the new building of Ukrainian embassy in Turkey yesterday.

European allies publicly diverged this week over the question of whether they would be open to sending truce peacekeepers to Ukraine.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was prepared to consider committing British soldiers, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that any debate on the matter was “completely premature”.

Russia sketched out some of its perspectives on future talks, arguing that settling the war required a reorganisation of Europe’s defence agreements.

Moscow has long called for the withdrawal of Nato forces from eastern Europe, viewing the alliance as an existential threat on its flank.

Before invading Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow had demanded Nato pull out of central and eastern Europe.

European leaders held an emergency meeting in Paris a day earlier on trying to present a united front, on a war they have responded to with heavy sanctions on Russia.

“There are other parties that have sanctions [on Russia], the European Union is going to have to be at the table at some point because they have sanctions as well,” said Rubio.

‘How to start negotiations’

The negotiations at Riyadh’s Diriyah Palace in Riyadh began without visible handshakes.

Both Russia and the US had cast the latest meeting as the beginning of a potentially lengthy process and downplayed the prospects of a breakthrough.

Trump has said he wants to end the war in Ukraine, but has thus far presented no concrete plan.

The United States has urged both sides that concessions will have to be made if any talks materialise.

Russia on the eve of the summit said there cannot be even a “thought” on it giving up territory seized from Ukraine.

The Kremlin said Ukraine had the “right” to join the European Union, but not the Nato military alliance.

It also said Putin was “ready” to negotiate with Zelenskyy “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.

The Ukrainian leader was in Turkey for discussions on the conflict with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Zelenskyy was due in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday but pushed back his visit after slamming the US-Russia discussions there.

- Agence France-Presse