Russia-US Hold Landmark Talks to Restore Ties | Key Takeaways

Russia-US Hold Landmark Talks to Restore Ties: The two chief diplomats of Russia and the U.S., on October R, met in Saudi Arabia to deal with improving ties between the two countries and to negotiate the ending of the war in Ukraine. Notably, no Ukrainians were present at the meeting.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has declared that his country will not accept any outcomes from these talks if Kyiv is not allowed to be part of them-all the more if the European allies are also beginning to express concern about the sidelining of their input. The meeting involved Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

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Restoring staffing at embassies: The Associated Press has quoted Marco Rubio as saying the two countries agreed on restoring staffing at their embassies. Both embassies have suffered serious erosion from effects of large-scale expulsions of diplomats over the years as relations soured and the United States, together with European nations, imposed a slew of sanctions against Russia.

Putin-Trump meet soon? The meeting also meant to clear the way for a summit to be held between Trump and Putin. Putin's Foreign Affairs Advisor, Yuri Ushakov, told Russia's Channel One that no date has been set yet for that summit but that it was "unlikely" to take place next week.

Ushakov pointed out that the two sides now agreed to "take each other's interests into account" and forward their - relations, but it was "hard to say" that their positions "are getting closer".

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U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said the meeting was aimed at determining how serious the Russians are about wanting peace and whether detailed negotiations can be started regarding an end to the war in Ukraine.

Sanctions: Lavrov reportedly stated that the Russian side views the U.S. position as easing sanctions on Moscow that were imposed because of the aggression against Ukraine. "There was strong interest in removing artificial barriers to the development of mutually beneficial economic cooperation," Lavrov was reported by AFP as saying following talks in Riyadh.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dimitry Kuleba stated that Ukraine will not accept any decision on ending the war without its participation. Weakness has been showing on the part of EU members, as France urged an urgent meeting with EU countries and the UK to discuss the war.

Rubio stated, however, that the end of the war in Ukraine will require everybody's participation and that the EU will take part in these negotiations.

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