Senior U.S. officials said on Tuesday after talks with a Russian delegation in Saudi Arabia that all sides will need to make concessions in order to bring about an end to the three-year-old Ukraine war.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Saudi National Security Advisor Mosaad bin Mohammad Al-Aiban, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 18, 2025. Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein
Senior U.S. officials said on Tuesday after talks with a Russian delegation in Saudi Arabia that all sides will need to make concessions in order to bring about an end to the three-year-old Ukraine war.
"Today is the first step of a long and difficult journey but an important one," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after the talks in Riyadh.
White House national security adviser Mike Waltz, also part of the U.S. delegation alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff, told reporters that no date had been set for a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The U.S. delegation said negotiations would include discussions about territory and security guarantees for Ukraine. Russia controls about a fifth of Ukraine.
Rubio said Trump wants to move quickly to try to bring an end to the war, and that the goal is a fair, enduring and sustainable agreement.
Amid concerns in Ukraine and among European allies about the U.S.-led effort, Rubio said the goal is an agreement that is "acceptable to everyone involved in it, and that obviously includes Ukraine, but also our partners in Europe, and, of course, the Russian side as well."
By Humeyra Pamuk and Pesha Magid
Saudi Arabia ordered an Iranian diplomat and three members of his team to leave the country Saturday, as the Kingdom continues to absorb Iranian missile strikes launched in retaliation for the US-Israeli military campaign against Tehran.
Around 59 people were wounded - most lightly - by Iranian missile strikes on Dimona in southern Israel, according to Israeli emergency services Magen David Adom, as reported by multiple Israeli media outlets.
Iran's military issued a stark warning Saturday, threatening to launch "violent strikes" against the UAE emirate of Ras Al Khaimah if Abu Dhabi allowed attacks against Iranian-controlled islands in the Gulf.
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