US-Russia agree to create ‘high-level team’ to negotiate Ukraine peace: ’Trump is the only leader who can…’

The US and Russian delegations have agreed to “address irritants" to their bilateral relationship – US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said after Riyadh talks concluded on Tuesday. 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was part of the US-Russia meeting also informed that the US and Russia have agreed to create a ‘high-level team’ to negotiate Ukraine peace and promote economic cooperation.

The US is “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,” Guardian quoted Tammy Bruce.

Notably, it was reported that the US and Russia were meeting to discuss the Ukraine war; however, the Saudi Arabia-hosted meeting lacked the presence of a Ukrainian official at the table. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned his country won’t recognize “any agreements about us without us.”

Bruce added that the US and Russia will also begin to consider “future cooperation on matters of mutual geopolitical interest and historic economic and investment opportunities that will emerge from a successful end to the conflict in Ukraine”.

The statement from the US claims:

President Trump wants to stop the killing; the United States wants peace and is using its strength in the world to bring countries together. President Trump is the only leader in the world who can get Ukraine and Russia to agree to that.

The US government's statement noted that “one phone call (between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin) followed by one meeting is not sufficient to establish enduring peace,” and so it is only the start of the process.

Marco Rubio Hints at EU Involvement

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio remarked, “In order for a conflict to end, everyone involved in that conflict has to be okay with it and it has to be acceptable to them.”

Rubio further said that the Riyadh talks were “the first step of a long and difficult journey.” The US Secretary of State added that “in order to bring an end to any conflict, there has to be concessions made by all sides,” but it would be wrong to “predetermine those.”

Rubio hinted at a role for the EU further down the line, saying that “there are other parties that have sanctions, the European Union is going to have to be at the table at some point because they have sanctions as well that have been imposed.”

Russia Hails Riyadh Talks, Says ‘Went Well’

Meanwhile, Russia’s chief foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said the Riyadh talks “went well” and was “a serious conversation on all issues,” according to Interfax and Tass.

Yuri Ushakov also said that the Russian and US sides agreed to allow negotiators to discuss Ukraine and briefly discussed the conditions needed for a Putin-Trump summit, although he noted it was unlikely to take place next week.