Moscow and Washington have reportedly reached an agreement to initiate a process to resolve the Ukraine conflict, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who made the announcement in Saudi Arabia following talks with the United States. Lavrov specified that the US side would soon reveal the identity of the representative who would participate in the process and once that information is known, Russia would also name its representative, as per a promise made by President Putin to President Trump.
According to Lavrov, consultations between the parties would then begin. The US State Department also confirmed that the United States and Russia would appoint “senior teams” to work on resolving the situation in Ukraine. The solution to the conflict, the parties emphasized, must be long-term, sustainable and acceptable to all sides and they have already made “important steps forward” on the path to peace.
The initial talks between Russia and the US took place on February 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and lasted for 4.5 hours. The Russian delegation was represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the foreign policy advisor to the Russian President, Yuri Ushakov, while the US side was represented by Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, US Senator Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Michael Walz.
Ushakov reported that the delegations from Russia and the United States engaged in a “serious conversation” on all relevant topics during the meeting.