US, Russia agree to work on path to end Ukraine war

The United States and Russia agreed yesterday to address "irritants" to the US-Russia relationship and begin working on a path to end Russia's war in Ukraine, the State Department said, making clear the effort was in its early stages.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US national security adviser Mike Waltz and US envoy Steve Witkoff met for four-and-a-half hours with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in Saudi Arabia as a follow-up to US President Donald Trump's telephone call with Russia President Vladimir Putin last week.

They discussed establishing a mechanism to address "irritants to our bilateral relationship" with the goal of normalizing diplomatic relations, the State Department said.

The two sides also appointed high-level teams to work on ending the Ukraine conflict "as soon as possible in a way that is enduring, sustainable, and acceptable to all sides," the department said.

But Ukraine and European leaders are worried that Trump could cut a hasty deal with Moscow that ignores their security interests, rewards Russia for invading its neighbor and leaves Putin free to threaten Ukraine or other countries in the future. European leaders met in Paris on Monday for emergency talks on how to respond to the radical pivot by the new Trump administration.

Putin and Trump have said that, apart from the war, they are keen to discuss issues such as nuclear arms control and how to bring down global energy prices.

The Kremlin said the Riyadh talks may bring clarity on a possible meeting between Trump and Putin, which both men have said they are keen to hold.

During the meeting, the Kremlin said a lasting settlement in Ukraine would be "impossible" without addressing the wider issue of European security and that Ukraine had the "sovereign right" to join the European Union but that it was opposed to it joining Nato.

"A lasting and long-term viable resolution is impossible without a comprehensive consideration of security issues on the continent," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding Putin was ready to talk to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky "if necessary."

Critics say that Trump's team, by ruling out Nato membership for Ukraine and saying that Kyiv's desire to win back all its lost territory is an illusion, has made major concessions in advance. US officials say they are simply recognizing reality.

Ukraine says no peace deal can be made on its behalf. "We, as a sovereign country, simply will not be able to accept any agreements without us," Zelensky said last week.

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun welcomed "efforts towards peace" in Ukraine, adding that "at the same time, we hope that all parties and stakeholders can participate" in talks.

Russia said ahead of the meeting that Putin and Trump wanted to move on from "abnormal relations" and that it saw no place for Europeans to be at any negotiating table.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, eight years after seizing Crimea and fomenting an insurgency in the east of the country. It now controls about a fifth of the country.

Reuters, AFP