On Tuesday, Russia and the United States agreed to establish high-level teams to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, following discussions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This marked the first official talks between Washington and Moscow since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. However, the exclusion of Ukraine from these negotiations has drawn sharp criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who emphasized that any efforts to resolve the conflict must be “fair” and include Ukraine and European nations, such as Turkey.
The discussions, facilitated by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also aimed to improve diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Russia. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed to appoint teams to work on a path to ending the conflict and to explore closer diplomatic and economic cooperation.
European leaders have expressed concern over potential concessions that might be made without their involvement. French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to host further talks with European and non-European nations to ensure a unified stance on European security.
The exclusion of Ukraine from these talks has raised questions about the legitimacy and potential effectiveness of any agreements reached without the direct involvement of the nation most affected by the conflict.