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US-Russia meeting in Saudi Arabia is not talks on Ukraine – State Department

US officials have emphasized that the upcoming meeting with Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia is not meant to be interpreted as negotiations on Ukraine, according to State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce.

byMaria Tril

17/02/2025

2 minute read

Rubio and Lavrov hold phone call, but accounts on Ukraine and sanctions differ

US State Secretary Marco Rubio and Russian FM Sergey Lavrov.

US-Russia meeting in Saudi Arabia is not talks on Ukraine – State Department

A US State Department spokeswoman said on 17 February that upcoming meetings between United States and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia should not be interpreted as negotiations regarding Ukraine.

US prepares for preliminary discussions between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 18 February. The high-level diplomatic engagement comes amid ongoing discussions between Washington and Moscow over the war in Ukraine, that the news Trump’s administartion had been claiming to end as soon as possible. Bloomberg’s sources said that Washington wants to achieve this by Easter, 20 April.

“I don’t think that people should view this as something that is about details or moving forward in some kind of a negotiation,” said Tammy Bruce ahead of the bilateral discussions scheduled to take place in Riyadh.

Bruce noted that President Trump had directed officials to “follow up effectively” on his recent phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The meeting, set for February 18 in Saudi Arabia, will include US Secretary of State Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, who recently held a telephone conversation on various issues.

Ukrainian President Zelensky said that Ukraine will not participate in this event and will not recognize any agreements concerning Ukraine that are reached without Ukrainian participation.

Retired US Army Gen. Jack Keane has commented on the talks between the US and Russia, saying that while Vladimir Putin pledged in his call with POTUS Donald Trump that he wants “peace,” he continues to have unrealistic demands.

“One, he doesn’t want to deal with Zelenskyy. Two, he wants to have territory under his control that he doesn’t even own. Three, he wants the Ukrainian military disarmed,” he said, adding that there’s no doubt that Ukraine will have “a seat at the negotiating table going forward if there are going to be real negotiations.”

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