US and Russia agree to set up negotiating groups on Russo-Ukrainian war
The US and Russian delegations have agreed to "address irritants to bilateral relationship" and continue to work on preparing talks on Russia's war against Ukraine.
As reported by The Guardian with reference to US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce after today's talks in Riyadh, the two sides also agreed to appoint high-level groups to negotiate on Ukraine, "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 United States and Russia will also begin to consider "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".
"President Trump wants to stop the killing; the United States wants peace and is using its strength in the world to bring countries together. President Trump is the only leader in the world who can get Ukraine and Russia to agree to that.
The parties to today’s meetings pledge to remain engaged to make sure the process moves forward in a timely and productive manner," Bruce said.
However, in terms of timing, the statement noted that "one phone call followed by one meeting is not sufficient to establish enduring peace", and thus this is only the beginning of the process.
The US also thanked Saudi Arabia for holding the talks.
Earlier, it became known that the talks between the United States and Russian delegations in the Saudi capital had ended.
Putin's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov said in his first comments to the Russian media that the talks "went well".
The talks began on the morning of 18 February. The US delegation includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House National Security Adviser Michael Waltz and Ambassador to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
The Russian side is represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov, Russian ruler Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy advisor.