Russia, US agree to form high-level teams to negotiate Ukraine deal
According to the statement, following the meeting, the United States and Russia agreed to “establish a consultation mechanism to address irritants to the bilateral relationship with the objective of taking steps necessary to normalize the operation of respective diplomatic missions”.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio agreed at the US-Russia Riyadh summit to form high-level teams to negotiate a settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, Tammy Bruce, a spokesperson for the US Department of State, said in a statement on Tuesday.
The statement comes after the official Russian and US delegations met in Saudi Arabia earlier in the day.
According to the US Department of State, following the meeting, the United States and Russia agreed to “establish a consultation mechanism to address irritants to our bilateral relationship with the objective of taking steps necessary to normalize the operation of our respective diplomatic missions.”
Moreover, Bruce continued, Rubio and Lavrov agreed to “appoint respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible in a way that is enduring, sustainable, and acceptable to all sides.
“The statement also added that Moscow and Washington decided to “lay the groundwork for future cooperation on matters of mutual geopolitical interest and historic economic and investment opportunities which will emerge from a successful end to the conflict in Ukraine.”
Bruce went on: “the parties to today’s meetings pledge to remain engaged to make sure the process moves forward in a timely and productive manner.”
“One phone call followed by one meeting is not sufficient to establish enduring peace. We must take action, and today we took an important step forward,” she added.
The Riyadh talks lasted four and a half hours. Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff participated in the negotiations on the US side.
As Kremlin Aide Ushakov pointed out earlier in the day after the talks, the delegations held a serious talk on all the issues they wanted to discuss, in particular, bringing Russian and US positions closer to each other and also contacts on Ukraine.
It is not yet clear who will join the group of negotiators on the Ukraine conflict settlement. It will be up to the Russian president to decide, he specified.
