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US secretary of state informs European counterparts of talks with top Russian diplomat

Following the negotiations with the Russian side held in Riyadh, Rubio spoke to the top diplomats of France, Germany, Italy, Britain and the EU

WASHINGTON, February 19. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has informed his UK, German, Italian, French and EU counterparts on talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Following the negotiations with the Russian side held in Riyadh, Rubio spoke to the top diplomats of France, Germany, Italy, Britain and the EU to brief them on the talks, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.

On February 18, Russia and the US held talks in Riyadh, which lasted 4.5 hours. Russia was represented at the meeting by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, presidential aide Yury Ushakov and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) head Kirill Dmitriev. The US was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and the US leader’s special envoy for the Middle East Steven Witkoff.

According to Ushakov, the delegations talked at length about everything on the agenda, including bringing the positions of Russia and the United States together and contacts on Ukraine. Lavrov called the conversation with US officials very constructive and reported that Russia and the United States had agreed to ensure the earliest possible appointment of ambassadors in both capitals. In turn, the US Department of State noted that Lavrov and Rubio agreed on creating negotiating teams on Ukraine as well as on future cooperation on shared geopolitical interests.

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