European officials not part of discussions as Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns his country will not recognise peace deals made without Ukrainian participation
Today’s Russia-US talks in Riyadh come barely a month after Donald Trump took office and reflects a significant departure from Washington’s position under the administration of Joe Biden, who eschewed public contacts, concluding that Russia was not serious about ending the war, Reuters reports.
Russia, which has occupied parts of Ukraine since 2014, launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022. Trump has vowed to end the war quickly. Ukraine says no agreements can be made on its behalf in the talks, to which Kyiv was not invited.
US officials sought to cast today’s talks as an initial contact to determine whether Moscow was serious about ending the war in Ukraine.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters in Riyadh:
This is a follow-up on that initial conversation between Putin and President Trump about perhaps if that first step is even possible, what the interests are, if this can be managed.
The Kremlin, however, suggested the discussions would cover “the entire complex of Russian-American relations”, as well as preparing for talks on a possible settlement regarding Ukraine and a meeting between the two presidents.
Source: The Guardian
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