"Not bad ..."

Riyadh: Talks between Moscow and the USA begin

Putin's chief diplomat Sergei Lavrov (second from left) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (second from right) negotiated for several hours.

(Bild: Handout/AFP)

Almost three years after the start of the war in Ukraine, delegations from the USA and Russia held their first talks in Saudi Arabia. The two sides cautiously explored their respective positions - while the Kremlin adopted an emphatically tame tone. 

During the meeting in Riyadh, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin could possibly agree to negotiations with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyi.

"Putin himself has stated that, if necessary, he would be willing to negotiate with Zelensky, but the legal basis of the agreements requires discussion of the reality that Zelensky's legitimacy may be called into question," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow on Tuesday.

Kremlin: EU accession okay, NATO accession not
Peskov also set out conditions for a settlement of the conflict. Ukraine has the "right" to join the EU, said Peskov. "But it is a completely different matter when it comes to security issues and military alliances," he continued, referring to NATO.

Kremlin spokesman Peskov and Vladimir Putin

(Bild: AFP)

"As far as Ukraine's accession to the EU is concerned, it is the sovereign right of every country," said Peskov. "Nobody has the right to dictate their behavior towards another country." As far as military alliances were concerned, however, the Kremlin's view was "different and well known". The Kremlin spokesperson went on to emphasize that a "lasting and long-term solution" in Ukraine would be impossible without "comprehensive consideration of security issues on the continent".

Ukraine is likely to have played a subordinate role at the meeting in the Saudi capital. The US side was represented in Riyadh on Tuesday by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Presidential Advisor Yuri Ushakov took part on behalf of Moscow.

Ushakov and Lavrov in Riyadh

(Bild: Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

After the meeting, it was simply stated that both sides had the goal of "normalizing" relations between the USA and Russia. According to the US, the negotiators agreed to appoint high-level teams for the Ukraine talks: "To find a way to end the conflict in Ukraine as quickly as possible in a way that is permanent, sustainable and acceptable to all sides."

According to Ushakov, the four and a half hour meeting was "not bad". Russia and the US "agreed to take each other's interests into account", but it was difficult to say whether they had "come closer together", he added, according to the Reuters news agency.

The conditions for a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump would be worked on. Ushakov explained that this would probably take some time. First of all, "thorough work" was necessary.

"Today is the first step on a long and difficult journey, but an important one," said Rubio. The aim is to achieve a fair, lasting and sustainable end to the war. The solution must be acceptable to all parties involved. No one would be left out. The EU would have to be involved at a certain point.

According to the US delegation, the negotiations will focus, among other things, on territory and security guarantees for Ukraine. Russia controls around a fifth of Ukrainian territory.

Lavrov outlines red lines
Russia's Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks had been useful and that they had listened to each other. Both sides had agreed to initiate a process to settle the conflict and to remove obstacles to diplomatic relations between the USA and Russia.

At the same time, Lavrov emphasized that NATO membership for Ukraine was unacceptable for Russia. And this also applies to the presence of NATO troops, even if they are not part of a NATO mission, but appear as EU troops or under other national flags.

These were the first talks at this level and in such a format since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Trump had held a telephone conversation with Putin last week and, in his own words, agreed to start negotiations on the future of Ukraine "without delay". 

Zelensky postpones visit to Saudi Arabia
Selensky also traveled to the Gulf at the same time and met President Muhammed bin Sajid-Nahjan in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He postponed a trip to Saudi Arabia planned for tomorrow, Wednesday, at short notice, as was announced on Tuesday. This is to be rescheduled for March 10. Talks with the US delegation are more important first, it was emphasized.

The USA, the European Union and other Western allies have supported Ukraine militarily and financially over the past three years. With Western help, Ukraine has been defending itself against a Russian invasion for almost three years. However, under Trump's leadership, the USA has hinted at a security policy retreat in recent days.