20 Feb, 03:38

Trump lauds Riyadh talks with Russia as 'big step' toward Ukrainian settlement

The Russian and US delegations held talks in Riyadh on February 18

US President Donald Trump AP Photo/Alex Brandon

US President Donald Trump

© AP Photo/Alex Brandon

NEW YORK, February 20. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump has lauded the Russian-US talks in Saudi Arabia as a major step toward settling the Ukrainian conflict.

"Our teams began negotiations this week in Saudi Arabia," he said and thanked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman "for hosting these historic talks" which "went very, very well."

"It's a big step. We got to get that war over with," he said at the Saudi-run investment forum in Miami.

The Russian and US delegations held talks in Riyadh on February 18. The talks lasted for 4.5 hours. Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and special envoy for the Middle East Stephen Witkoff represented the US side.

According to Ushakov, the delegations had a serious conversation on all the matters they had planned to discuss, including bringing the two countries’ positions closer together and contacts on Ukraine. Lavrov said the conversation was very useful and the sides agreed to appoint ambassadors as soon as possible. The State Department, for its part, said that Lavrov and Rubio agreed at the meeting to set up negotiating groups on Ukraine and on future cooperation on issues of common geopolitical interest.

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Ukraine crisis Ukraine United States Donald Trump

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