US Russia agree to start push towards peace in Ukraine State Dept says

RIYADH - The United States and Russia said on Feb 18 they had agreed to press ahead with efforts to end the war in Ukraine after holding talks in the Saudi capital at which Kyiv was not represented.

The four-and-a-half-hour meeting in Riyadh marked a crucial moment - the first time that US and Russian officials have sat down together to discuss ways to halt the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.

Ukraine says it will not accept any deal imposed on it without its consent.

Even before the talks took place, President Donald Trump’s administration was accused by some European politicians of handing free concessions to Moscow last week by ruling out Nato membership for Ukraine and saying it was an illusion for Kyiv to believe it could win back the 20 per cent of its territory now under Russian control.

US national security adviser Mike Waltz told reporters in Riyadh that the war must come to a permanent end, and this would involve negotiations over territory.

“Just a practical reality is that there is going to be some discussion of territory and there’s going to be discussion of security guarantees,” he said.

Addressing Ukrainian and European concerns, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said no one was being sidelined, the European Union needed to be involved at some point, and any solution must be acceptable to all parties.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had postponed a visit to Saudi Arabia planned for Feb 19 until March, and that talks on how to end the war with Russia could not be held behind Ukraine’s back.

Even as the meeting in the Saudi capital was under way, Russia hardened its demands.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters in Moscow it was “not enough” for Nato not