The United States and Russia have agreed to appoint a negotiating team to end the Russia-Ukraine war

(Riyadh/Moscow) High-level delegations from the United States and Russia on Tuesday held talks without representatives from Ukraine or other European countries on ending the war and repairing U.S.-Russian relations. The two sides agreed to appoint negotiating teams as soon as possible to begin consultations on ending the war in Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House National Security Adviser Walter and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Witkov held a four-and-a-half hour meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, presidential aide Sergei Ushakov and Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Dmitriev at the Diriyah Palace in Riyadh on Tuesday. This is the first high-level face-to-face meeting between the United States and Russia since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The two sides did not address the meeting or shake hands for a group photo, reflecting the strained relationship between the two countries.

State Department spokesman Robert Bruce said after the meeting that Rubio and Lavrov agreed to appoint a high-level team to lead the Ukraine negotiations and "work together to bring the conflict in Ukraine to an end as soon as possible in a durable, sustainable and mutually acceptable manner." The two also agreed to establish a consultation mechanism to resolve difficult issues in bilateral relations with a view to taking necessary measures to resume normal operations of their respective diplomatic missions.

Us and Russia discuss post-conflict economic cooperation

In addition, the United States and Russia will begin to discuss the possibility of future cooperation on shared geopolitical interests, as well as the historic economic and investment opportunities arising from the end of the conflict in Ukraine.

Mr Rubio described the meeting as "the first step in a long and difficult journey". He stressed that the end of the Russia-Ukraine war must be acceptable to all parties involved in the conflict, including Ukraine, Russia and Europe.

Rubio also said that to end any conflict, all sides need to make concessions and show that Europe will play a role in the negotiations. "The EU has to come to the table at some point because they have also imposed sanctions [on Russia]."

Walz said the next talks will cover issues such as territory and security guarantees. He stressed that the war between Russia and Ukraine must end permanently. In response to complaints from Ukraine and European Allies that the United States and Russia are bypassing them to discuss the Ukraine issue, Volz dismissed that the United States is consulting with its Allies almost every day and will continue to do so.

Lavrov described the meeting as "very useful", saying that the two sides not only listened to each other, but also listened to each other. "I have every reason to believe that the US side understands our position."