Russia and the U.S. To Negotiate Peace in Ukraine
President Vodolymyr Zelensky (L), Emmanuel Macron (C), and Donald Trump (R), Feb. 2025. X/ @farhadesmaeili4
February 17, 2025 Hour: 10:14 am
Negotiations will take place in Saudi Arabia without the participation of European countries
On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will open negotiations in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, to normalize bilateral relations and lay the groundwork for a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine.
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“I don’t know what (the Europeans) are doing at the negotiating table,” Lavrov said at a press conference before departing for the Saudi capital.
While the U.S. made it clear at the Munich Conference that European countries would not participate in the negotiations, Moscow has long maintained the same stance, arguing that Kiev, Berlin, and Paris failed to comply with the Minsk Agreements ten years ago.
The negotiations will take place against the backdrop of a possible meeting between Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and White House President Donald Trump. They agreed in a phone conversation last week to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
Riyadh, Ground Zero
Although it was already known that Rubio would travel to Riyadh, it was the Kremlin that announced the meeting, in which Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy advisor, will also participate.
“They are expected to hold a meeting with their U.S. counterparts on Tuesday in Riyadh, focusing on restoring the full spectrum of U.S.-Russian relations,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
This will be the first meeting between a Russian foreign minister and a U.S. secretary of state since January 2022, just one month before the war began, when Lavrov met with his then-counterpart Antony Blinken.
Regarding the negotiations, Rubio told CBS News that there is “a long road ahead” before peace talks with Russia can begin. He said that Putin “expressed interest in peace” during his conversation with Trump and that “the coming weeks and days will determine whether he is serious or not.”
“A phone call does not resolve a war as complex as this one. But I can tell you that Donald Trump is the only leader in the world who could potentially start that process,” Rubio said.
The U.S. delegation to Saudi Arabia also includes special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
Russia Wants to Discuss More Than Just Ukraine
Meanwhile, Lavrov made it clear that Russia does not want to discuss only Ukraine with the Americans. “The first thing we want to do is listen to them,” he said, adding that last week, Putin and Trump “agreed on the need to move past a completely abnormal period in relations between the two great powers, during which they essentially did not communicate except on certain technical and humanitarian issues.”
“The presidents agreed that it is necessary to resume dialogue on all issues that, in one way or another, can be resolved with the participation of Russia and the United States,” he emphasized.
Among these issues, Lavrov mentioned not only Ukraine but also the situation in the Middle East and “other regions of the world.” Regarding the war with its neighboring country, Lavrov admitted that the United States “can help solve the problem.”
“We do not hide the fact that such assistance is entirely possible. Moreover, the United States has played a significant role in the Ukrainian crisis from the very beginning,” he explained, accusing Europeans of using the conflict’s frozen status as a pretext to continue the fighting.
Zelensky Rejects Negotiations
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is also in the Middle East and will travel to Saudi Arabia in the coming days, stated that he would not recognize any outcome from the meeting and reminded that the U.S. has no right to negotiate with Russia on matters affecting Ukraine without its participation.
“Ukraine will not accept it. Ukraine knew nothing about this. And Ukraine considers any results of negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine to be null and void. We cannot recognize any agreement about us without us,” Zelensky said, adding taht he will ask His Highness Mohammed Bin Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince, “what he knows about this.”
Meanwhile, European leaders, who were outraged by Washington’s decision to exclude them from the negotiations on Ukraine, will meet on Monday in Paris to coordinate their stance and address continental security challenges.
Regardless, the Kremlin spokesperson highlighted that today, unlike just a few months ago, “everyone in the world is now trying to discuss what needs to be done to stop the war—one way or another.”
“This is a positive development,” he stressed. The Riyadh talks will also address plans and preparations for a future meeting between Putin and Trump, who said on Sunday that it would take place “very soon.”
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
