The meeting was particularly expected. It aims to initiate a process to end the war in Ukraine … but without Ukraine, which was not invited to this meeting. American-Russian talks organized in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ended this Tuesday, February 18 after about four and a half hours of discussions. The exchanges brought together the heads of American diplomacy Marco Rubio and Russian Sergei Lavrov, as well as their advisers.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was at the end of the “convinced” talks that Russia would like to engage in a “serious process” to end war and affirmed that everyone will have to have a place At the negotiating table on Ukraine, including the European Union. “There are other parties that have sanctions (against Russia), the European Union will have to be at the table at some point because they also have sanctions,” he told the press .
Marco Rubio also said that an agreement on Ukraine had to be “acceptable” for everyone. According to Marco Rubio, the United States targets a “fair and sustainable” end to the conflict launched by the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The head of American diplomacy estimated that “an important step forward” had been made, said the spokesperson for the State Department, Tammy Bruce, reporting on the discussions in a statement.
“High -level” teams to negotiate
Marco Rubio and Sergei Lavrov decided at the end of their meeting in Riyadh to appoint “high -level” teams to negotiate the end of the conflict in Ukraine, the US State Department announced. The purpose of this designation is to “start working on a conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible, in a sustainable, sustainable and acceptable manner for all parties,” said Tammy Bruce.
Mike Waltz also reported on the discussions. The national security adviser of the American president, who participated in the discussions in Riyadh, said that any negotiation to end the war in Ukraine will have to include “a discussion on the territories” and on “security guarantees”. “It must be a permanent end of war, not a temporary end, as we have seen in the past,” he said to the press after American-Russian talks.
For its part, Russia indicated, through the voice of Iouri Ouchakov, that Russians and American will speak of the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine “in due course”. “We have discussed, explained our approaches in principle and agreed that distinct teams of negotiators on this subject would contact in due time,” said Diplomatic Advisor to Vladimir Putin, who also participated in discussions in Arabia, on Russian television Vladimir Participation in Arabia Saudi. “Americans must designate their representatives, we will designate ours, and then, probably, the work will start,” added Iouri Ouchakov. According to the latter, “it is still difficult to say if (the Russian and American positions) approached, but it was the subject”. “It was a very serious conversation on all the subjects we wanted to tackle,” added the diplomatic advisor to the Kremlin.
“Lonking the foundations for future cooperation”
According to Moscow and Washington, this meeting makes it possible to “lay the foundations for future cooperation” between the two countries in cold since the invasion of Ukraine, said the US State Department. This future cooperation will focus on “geopolitical issues of common interest and on economic opportunities and historical investment that will emerge from a successful outcome to the conflict in Ukraine,” said the spokesperson for the State Department, Tammy Bruce .
Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday being convinced that the United States began to “better understand” the position of Moscow, especially on Ukraine. At a press conference, the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs judged their conversation “useful”. “We were not content to listen to ourselves, we agreed,” he continued.
The fears of Volodymyr Zelensky
For his part, Volodymyr Zelensky, who is in Türkiye on Tuesday, said he was not even informed of Riyadh’s meeting. The Ukrainian president criticized the Russian-American meeting by calling it on talks on the Russian invasion of Ukraine “without Ukraine”. “Negotiations are underway now […] Between Russian and American representatives. Once again, on Ukraine and without Ukraine, “he denounced, announcing also postponing his trip to Saudi Arabia scheduled for Wednesday. Monday, Volodymyr Zelensky had hammered that Ukraine” would not recognize “no agreement Concluded without it, and judged that Ukrainians and Western must have a common position before speaking with the Kremlin.
Washington and Moscow indicated that kyiv would participate in the talks at the right time, and the spokesperson for Kremlin Dmitri Peskov assured this Tuesday that Vladimir Putin was “if necessary […] Ready to negotiate with Volodymyr Zelensky. “Russia announced this Tuesday morning that it did not oppose an entry of Ukraine in the EU.” It is the sovereign law of any country. No one has the right to dictate their conduct to another country, “said Dmitri Peskov.
On the other hand, Moscow opposes its membership in NATO. “We have explained today that the deployment (in Ukraine) of troops of armed forces in NATO countries, but under another flag, under the flag of the European Union or under national flags does not change anything. ‘is of course unacceptable, “said Sergei Lavrov at the end of talks in Riyadh.