NEW YORK, February 21. /TASS/. The administration of US President Donald Trump will not impose the terms of a potential future agreement with Russia on either Ukraine or Europe, The New York Times reported.
According to the newspaper's European sources, after the talks with Russia in Ryadh, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed his European counterparts on the results of the meeting. The New York Times said that Rubio called the talks with a high-level Russian delegation in Riyadh a "test" of the seriousness of Russia's intentions to conclude a peace deal on Ukraine.
Rubio explained to his European colleagues why representatives of Ukraine and the EU were not invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia. According to him, most of the conversation focused on relations between the United States and Russia, an important issue being the resumption of full-fledged work of the embassies in Moscow and Washington.
The newspaper's sources also said that the top US diplomat linked the restoration of the work of the diplomatic missions with progress in reaching a deal on Ukraine. According to the sources, Rubio said that Russia's position indicates its interest in further negotiations. During the conversation, the Secretary of State allegedly urged US allies to be united and promised to keep them informed about contacts with Russia.
The New York Times reported that there had been a phone call between Rubio and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, in which the foreign ministers of the UK, Germany, Italy and France had also participated. The conversation took place after Russia and the United States met in Saudi Arabia.
The Russian and US delegations held talks in Riyadh on February 18, which lasted about four and a half 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 Steve Witkoff participated in the negotiations. The meeting angered US' European allies and Ukraine's leadership, who demanded a seat at the negotiating table.