Saudi Talks Outcome: Restore Embassy Staffing, Trump-Putin Meeting Undetermined

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said the conversation “went well” with his US counterparts in Riyadh as the two parties wrapped up the four-hour meeting that kicked off their first step in attempting to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Ushakov, attending the talks alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, described the talks as “a serious conversation on all issues” but said it is unclear if Moscow’s and Washington’s positions had converged.

“It is hard to say that they are getting closer,” Ushakov told a Russian television station, according to AFP. 

“We discussed and outlined our principled positions, and agreed that separate teams of negotiators will be in touch on this topic in due course,” Ushakov added. 

That said, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hinted at some mutual grounds between the US and Russia after the talks, including the resumption of embassy staffing and the exploration of economic interests with Russia after the invasion was over. 

“We’re going to need to have vibrant diplomatic missions that are able to function normally in order to be able to continue these conduits,” Rubio said, according to AP News. 

As for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Ushakov said the details are undetermined.

“We are ready for this, but it is still difficult to talk about a specific date for the meeting of the two leaders,” he said, quoted by AP News. 

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After the talks, US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz told reporters that territorial claims and security guarantees would “undergird and underlie any type of discussion.”

“We know just the practical reality is that there is going to be some discussion of territory, and there’s going to be discussion of security guarantees. Those are fundamental basics that will, that will undergird and underlie any type of discussion,” Waltz said, according to The Guardian.

CNN said Rubio also named four principles agreed upon by both parties after the talks:

1. “To reestablish the functionality of our respective missions in Washington and Moscow. For us to be able to continue to move down this road, we need to have diplomatic facilities that are operating and functioning normally.”
2. “We’re going to appoint a high-level team from our end to help negotiate and work through the end of the conflict in Ukraine in a way that’s enduring and acceptable to all the parties engaged.”
3. “To begin to discuss and think about and examine both the geopolitical and economic cooperation that could result from an end to the conflict in Ukraine.”
4. “The five of us that were here today… are going to remain engaged in this process to make sure that it’s moving along in a productive way.”

Meanwhile, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said work is underway to designate teams and further the talks in a statement. 

“Appoint respective high-level teams to begin 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,” Bruce said, according to Reuters. 

The Russian side is headed by Lavrov and Ushakov, while the American side is headed by Waltz, Rubio and Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff.

The meeting, organized after Trump’s phone call with Putin, marks the first high-level meeting between US and Russian officials with the intent of ending Russia’s war against Ukraine since the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Both sides were expected to lay the groundwork to facilitate future peace talks in Riyadh.

Both Washington and Moscow ruled out Ukrainian and European participation at this initial stage, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowing not to recognize the results due to a lack of participation by Kyiv.