In a significant development, top US and Russian diplomats met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss resetting their countries’ strained relations and potentially ending the Ukraine war. Notably, Ukraine was excluded from these talks, sparking concerns in Kyiv and Europe.
The meeting, held at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, brought together US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, with their Russian counterparts, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and senior Putin aide Yuri Ushakov.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his dissatisfaction with being left out of the talks, stating that Kyiv “did not know anything about” the discussions and “cannot recognise any things or any agreements about us without us.”
The talks are seen as a tentative start to addressing the Ukraine conflict, with both sides downplaying the likelihood of a breakthrough. However, the fact that the talks are taking place at all has raised concerns among European leaders, who met in Paris on Monday for emergency discussions.
The US and Russia have different agendas for the talks. While the US is pushing for a swift resolution to the three-year conflict, Russia sees the outreach as an opportunity to win concessions.
China has welcomed the efforts towards peace in Ukraine, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun stating that “at the same time, we hope that all parties and stakeholders can participate” in talks.
The exclusion of Ukraine from the talks has sparked concerns about the country’s future. Zelensky has emphasized that any peace deal must include “robust and reliable” security guarantees, which France and Britain have called for but not all European powers support.
The talks in Riyadh mark a significant shift in the geopolitical landscape, with Saudi Arabia emerging as a key player in international diplomacy. As James Dorsey noted, “Europe’s the traditional meeting place for the Americans and the Russians, but that’s not an option in the current environment. You either go to Asia or you go to Saudi Arabia.
