US and Russia to explore closer relations after Ukraine talks in Riyadh

Marco Rubio says talks ‘first step of a long and difficult journey’ while Putin adviser says meeting ‘went well’

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, second left, meets with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Saudi National Security Advisor Mosaad bin Mohammad Al-Aiban, US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday Feb. 18, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Top US and Russian officials have met in Saudi Arabia for the most extensive negotiations between the two countries in three years, agreeing to continue planning an end to the Ukraine war and pursue closer cooperation amid concerns in Kyiv and across Europe that Donald Trump could push for a settlement favouring Vladimir Putin.

After the talks at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, which lasted almost five hours, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said the two sides had agreed to create a high-level team to support Ukraine peace talks and to explore “economic and investment opportunities which will emerge from a successful end to the conflict in Ukraine.” The statements highlighted a tectonic shift in Washington’s approach to Russia, dramatically moving away from the Biden administration’s efforts to isolate Moscow.