A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry press service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (C) and Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov (C, back) arriving at the airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photograph: Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service
Senior officials from the United States and Russia, including their top diplomats, are set to meet to discuss improving relations and negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine, officials announced Monday. The meeting, scheduled for Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, would be the most significant diplomatic engagement between the two nations since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.
The talks represent a key effort by the Trump administration to shift U.S. policy away from isolating Russia, potentially laying the groundwork for a direct meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Washington’s recent diplomatic push on the war has prompted concerns among Kyiv and its allies, who are scrambling to ensure they have a voice in the negotiations. Fearing a deal that may not align with their interests, France convened an emergency meeting of European Union nations and the U.K. on Monday to discuss their response.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has emphasized that any security guarantees for Ukraine must include a U.S. backstop, calling it "the only way" to effectively deter future Russian aggression. His remarks follow an emergency summit of European leaders in Paris, where they reaffirmed their support for Ukraine while expressing skepticism over the U.S.'s push for a swift peace deal with Russia. European leaders stressed that any agreement must involve Ukraine and include meaningful security guarantees, particularly a U.S. commitment, to ensure long-term stability.
The comments come just hours before U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for their first exploratory talks. Lavrov appeared to mock European leaders, suggesting there was little reason to include them in negotiations if their goal was merely to prolong the conflict.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz returned to Berlin earlier than other leaders, leaving the Paris summit to participate in a televised debate on ARD1 ahead of Sunday’s election. After waiting for CDU/CSU candidate Friedrich Merz to take questions first, Scholz is now live, engaging with the studio audience.
When asked which cabinet position they would offer each other in a potential coalition, Merz dismissed the idea as a “bold hypothesis” and said results would have to come first. Scholz, laughing, agreed: “Where he is right, he is right. We both want the same job, and the citizens will decide.”
In Riyadh, Lavrov and the Russian delegation have arrived ahead of tomorrow’s talks with U.S. officials on bilateral relations and a possible Ukraine peace deal. The discussions are set to begin early in the morning, with key updates expected throughout the day.
Following the Paris summit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa issued identical statements on social media:
"Today in Paris, we reaffirmed that Ukraine deserves peace through strength—peace that respects its independence and territorial integrity, backed by strong security guarantees. Europe carries its full share of military assistance to Ukraine. At the same time, we must significantly strengthen our defense capabilities."
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