Politics USA and Russia agree Ukraine talks
The USA and Russia have agreed to hold talks on ending the war in Ukraine at the first meeting of foreign ministers after a break of several years. Both sides unanimously reported this after the meeting between Ministers Marco Rubio and Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was agreed that the governments would appoint negotiators for such talks, both sides announced.
18.02.2025, 16:41
SDA
A lasting, stable and mutually acceptable peace must be achieved, the US State Department said. "A phone call followed by a meeting is not enough to create a lasting peace," it said in a statement. "We must act, and today we have taken an important step forward." US President Donald Trump is the only person who can bring both sides to a solution in the Ukraine war, it added. The USA would "use its strength" to bring Russia and Ukraine together.
Ukraine and Europeans not involved
Representatives of the affected Ukraine or its European supporters were not present at the talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi was himself traveling in the Middle East and said of the meeting in Riyadh that his country and Europe should be at the negotiating table in any peace talks. There are concerns that Europe and Ukraine could be bypassed by Trump with Putin: Ukraine could be forced to make painful concessions and the Europeans alone should secure a possible ceasefire.
At the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, several European heads of state and government met in Paris on Monday to discuss how they should react to Trump's change of course on Ukraine and European security. The crisis summit was overshadowed by disagreements over the possible deployment of troops to Ukraine to secure a peace agreement, should this be reached.
Preparations for the Trump-Putin summit
Following the meeting in Riyadh, Putin's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov also spoke of preparations for a summit between heads of state Trump and Putin. However, he dampened expectations that such a summit could take place next week. According to Russian news agencies, intensive preparatory work by the delegations was still necessary. The statement from the US State Department did not mention this point.
Relations between the USA and Russia have been at a low point in recent years due to the war in Ukraine. Lavrov's meetings with the previous US Secretary of State Antony Blinken were only sporadic and on the fringes of international meetings such as the G20 format. Since Trump took office around a month ago, the signs are now pointing towards rapprochement.
According to Washington, it was also agreed at the talks in Riyadh to take steps to normalize the operation of the respective diplomatic missions. In the course of the deterioration in relations, diplomats had been expelled on several occasions.
Trump called Putin last week and discussed a possible end to the Russian war of aggression. The two agreed to begin negotiations and also to meet in person at a later date. Rubio was accompanied by the US Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, among others.
Kremlin: Putin ready for meeting with Zelenskyi
According to the Kremlin, Putin is also prepared to hold talks with Zelensky in order to find a solution to the conflict over Ukraine. According to Russian news agencies, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin had repeatedly declared his willingness to do so. At the same time, there is a problem with Zelensky's legitimacy, he claimed. Russia criticizes the fact that Zelensky's term of office expired in May last year and believes that elections are necessary in the neighbouring country. Ukraine, on the other hand, emphasizes that Zelensky's powers are still in force due to the current martial law.
Talks on the economy
On the Moscow side, Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian State Investment Fund, was responsible for the economic talks in Riyadh. In an interview with US broadcaster CNN, he praised Trump's people as great problem solvers. "And I think that President Trump is a great problem solver."
The Americans had not made any promises in the talks, he said. Dmitriev also denied that Russia was primarily concerned with ending the sanctions. "It is important to build bridges. I think that relations between the USA and Russia are important for the world."
The US State Department said that the foundation was being laid for "future cooperation on issues of mutual geopolitical interest and historic economic and investment opportunities". However, these would only arise from "a successful end to the conflict in Ukraine".
The USA and the other states in the G7 group, including Germany, have provided Ukraine with military and financial support over the past three years. Among other things, the interest on frozen Russian state assets has been made available to Ukraine. With Western aid, Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian invasion for almost three years. Russia controls around a fifth of Ukraine's territory, including the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in 2014.
Zelenskyj on his own trip to the Middle East
Zelensky also traveled to the Gulf at the same time and met President Mohammed bin Sajid in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). His next stop on Tuesday was Turkey, where he met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to the state news agency Anadolu, Selenskyj announced before the meeting that he also wanted to talk to Erdogan about security guarantees in the event of an end to the war. He said at the opening of a new embassy building in Ankara that he saw the USA, the EU and Turkey as having a duty in this regard.
Selensky is also expected in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday - one day after the Russian-American meeting.
