Russia on Tuesday outlined tough conditions if it is to end its war in Ukraine, including an outright rejection of western or Nato forces being stationed there as peacekeepers, warning that any attempt to bring Kyiv into the defence alliance would be considered a "direct threat" to Russia's sovereignty.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Riyadh at the start of talks aimed at ending the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine. The convening of the two powers – without Ukraine or Europe at the table – marks a sea change in US foreign policy under President Donald Trump, who has vowed to bring the conflict to an end.
“Today is the first step of a long and difficult journey but an important one,” Mr Rubio said after the talks.
It was the first time US and Russian officials have sat down together to discuss ways to halt the deadliest conflict in Europe since the Second World War. Ukraine has said it will not accept any deal imposed without its involvement, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated that "there must be no decision over the heads of Ukraine".
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Tuesday, and later cancelled a planned trip to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday in protest against Kyiv's exclusion from the US-Russia talks.
"We are honest and we are open for peace talks, but I have taken the decision of not visiting Saudi Arabia," the Ukrainian leader told a joint press conference with Mr Erdogan. Mr Zelenskyy had been expected to visit Saudi Arabia following his meetings in Turkey and talks in the UAE on Monday.
Following the meeting in Riyadh with Mr Rubio, Mr Lavrov outlined Moscow's demands for any peace deal to come to pass. “Nato's intentions to bring Ukraine under Nato represents a direct threat to Russia's sovereignty and interest,” Mr Lavrov said.
“That's why we've reiterated today that the deployment of armed forces or any peacekeeping troops, particularly from the Nato nations under the banner of [anything] like the European Union, cannot be allowed and is not acceptable.”
He added that the US and Russia had agreed to the possibility of renewing the Black Sea grain deal, discussed possible mediation by other countries, including Turkey, and spoke about an initiative to protect nuclear and energy facilities.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the talks a "really significant milestone".
"This was a first step of many steps towards peace with the Russia-Ukraine conflict," she told reporters. "The President and his team have talked to both sides … about what they can do to move forward to ending this conflict, and the President remains committed to seeing results."
Saudi Arabian officials led Tuesday's talks, Russian state media reported. Riyadh has played a key role in establishing contact between Moscow and Washington, as well as bringing about prisoner exchanges.
The US State Department meanwhile said Russia and the US had agreed to establish a consultation mechanism to address “irritants to our bilateral relationship”, with the objective of taking steps necessary to establish diplomatic relations.
The two countries also agreed to “lay the groundwork for future co-operation on matters of mutual geopolitical interest, and historic economic and investment opportunities, which will emerge from a successful end to the conflict in Ukraine.”
Mr Putin was ready for talks with Mr Zelenskyy “if necessary,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. He added that the Kremlin considered Ukraine's accession to the EU as Kyiv's sovereign right, and that it did not intend to dictate on the matter given that it is not a military association. Mr Peskov also stated Russia would continue co-operation with Iran despite talks with US.
“We really see that President Trump and his team is a team of problem solvers, people who have already addressed a number of big challenges very swiftly, very efficiently and very successfully,” said Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, in Riyadh.
Since taking office on January 20, Mr Trump has said he wants to bring a swift end to the war in Ukraine. However, recent developments have left some European countries and Ukraine feeling sidelined and moving for a seat at the negotiating table. The talks in Riyadh come after European leaders gathered in Paris on Monday for an emergency summit to establish a unified strategy for ending the war.
Last week, Mr Trump and Mr Putin agreed in a phone call to begin negotiations aimed at bringing an end to the war, in a sweeping reversal of US policy, in place since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost three years ago. Mr Rubio was already in Saudi Arabia as part of his first tour of the Middle East, which began on Saturday in Israel.
Jihan Abdalla in Washington contributed to this report
