Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov have met for talks on the way forward for the Ukraine warfare, however even earlier than sitting down Russia made clear it was approaching issues with a tough bargaining mindset.
Photos of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, flanked by America’s Center East Envoy Steve Witkoff and Nationwide Safety Advisor Mike Waltz, and sitting reverse Russia’s Overseas Minister Sergei Lavrov and President Putin’s advisor Yuri Ushakov have been revealed as talks start on Tuesday morning.
It’s the first high-level talks between the U.S. and Russia since Moscow launched a second invasion of Ukraine almost three years in the past and is going down on the Al Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and are being mediated by Saudi Overseas Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. These talks aren’t supposed to instantly discover solutions for the Ukraine Struggle, however reasonably to create an surroundings the place later the U.S. and Russian Presidents will have the ability to meet face-to-face for actual negotiations.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, second left, meets with Saudi Overseas Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Saudi Nationwide Safety Advisor Mosaad bin Mohammad Al-Aiban, U.S. Nationwide Safety Advisor Mike Waltz, third left, U.S. Center East envoy Steve Witkoff, left, Russian Overseas Minister Sergei Lavrov, proper, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s international coverage advisor Yuri Ushakov, second proper, at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday Feb. 18, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Picture by way of AP)
Certainly, spokesman for President Putin Dmitry Peskov stated from a Russian perspective the first objective of the talks at the moment is “restoring the entire advanced of Russian-American relations” and organising a future chief assembly.
Regardless of the slender intent of at the moment’s talks, European leaders together with Ukraine have expressed disquiet at not being invited to attend. Ukraine has vowed to disregard any peace deal agreed over its head, and European leaders held their very own “emergency” summit on Monday to debate what was characterised beforehand as “the challenges posed by Trump.”
As to be anticipated with such main negotiations, either side have began early with their exhausting bargaining tactic prepositioning. Russia’s Lavrov, a political survivor who has been Russia’s international minister for over 20 years made clear in feedback as he flew to Saudi Arabia on Monday that he can be representing Russia’s worldview on the Ukraine warfare — itself so alien to most Westerners it’d show a negotiating stumbling block all of its personal — and would begin talks from a place of Russia surrendering no territory in any respect, Reuters said.
Lavrov additionally took the time to nettle European leaders, already reportedly smarting from not being invited to at the moment’s talks, to say there would have been no level asking them to peace talks anyway as their solely curiosity — in his view — is prolonging the warfare. Lavrov stated: “The European philosophy hasn’t gone anyplace so I don’t know what they need to do on the negotiating desk. If they will weasel out some crafty concepts about freezing the battle — whereas really intending, as is their customized, nature, and behavior — to proceed the warfare then why ought to we invite them in any respect?”.
In different respects, Russia’s issues seem mirror Ukraine’s, in that it doesn’t need to see a ‘peace’ used as a pretext to re-arm Ukraine for a later resumption of hostilities, Lavrov stated. Ukraine has stated for weeks it desires any ceasefire to be everlasting, with complete deterrence of future Russian aggression in order that they don’t merely use it as time to rebuild their navy for a subsequent re-invasion.
Different exhausting bargaining positions embrace Lavrov saying Russia can be getting into talks with an expectation that the West must reply not directly for supporting the Ukrainian authorities, which he reminds the official place of the Russian state, is that Kyiv is a “Nazi regime”. Ukraine has dedicated warfare crimes “worse than Hitler’s murderers” in the middle of their defence in opposition to Russia’s invasion, he stated. Ukraine additionally accuses Russia of warfare crimes.
As with all negotiations, discovery of what are real and what are bids to achieve early leverage awaits.
