Russian and United States officials on Tuesday held their first direct talks since Moscows full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with delegates from both sides striking a positive tone while downplaying the chances of an immediate breakthrough.Not bad, I think, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told state broadcaster Channel One when asked about the 4.5-hour meeting in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia.
It was a very serious discussion on every issue we wanted to address.Ushakov said it was hard to say whether Russian-United States relations were improving but described the talks as productive.
Weve agreed to consider each others interests and advance bilateral relations because both Moscow and Washington are interested in that, he said.Besides Ushkaov, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov represented Moscow at the meeting, which the Kremlin earlierdescribed as part of efforts to restore the full scope of United States -Russia relations.
Representing Washington were United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.No Ukrainian officials were present at the meeting.United States officials echoed the cautious optimism of the Russian delegates, with Rubio acknowledging that a lot of work remains before we have a result.Rubio outlined key priorities ahead, including restoring diplomatic ties with Russia such as increasing staff numbers at embassies in Washington and Moscow as well as engaging both Ukraine and Russia in future peace negotiations.If our diplomatic channels are broken, it will be hard to engage, Rubio said, emphasizing that ultimately the Russian side will be indispensable in efforts to end the war in Ukraine.However, the United States secretary of state also sought to temper expectations: Today was just an agreement to begin that process.Ushakov said a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and United States President Donald Trump was unlikely next week, as Bloomberg had earlier reported, but the two sides on Tuesday discussed creating the conditions for a summit.On the war in Ukraine, Ushakov saiddelegates laid out their principled positions and agreed to appoint negotiators who would establish contact in due course.Despite concerns that the talks signaled a sidelining of Ukraine and European allies, United States officials pushed back against that characterization during a press briefing after the talks on Tuesday.Shuttle diplomacy has happened throughout history, Waltz told reporters, stressing that United States officials had spoken with Ukrainian and European leaders in recent days.
The facts will continue to push back on this notion that our allies arent being consulted.Describing the meetings atmosphere, special envoy Witkoff called the discussions with Russian delegates as positive, upbeat, constructive solution-based.We couldnt have imagined a better result, Witkoff said in a press briefing, though he declined to say whether he planned to visit Russia as part of future negotiations.