U.S. Secretary of State Mr. Marco Rubio said,“For three years no one else has been able to bring something together like what we saw today, because Donald Trump is the only leader in the world that can.”

The US was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, while Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who was accompanied by Moscow’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov. 

The leaders of the two global powers discussed the re-establishment of their diplomatic ties and ways to put an end to the Ukraine war. Formation of a high-level team to negotiate a settlement to the war in Ukraine was agreed upon by the US and Russia. Mr. Rubio said, this step could widen opportunities for areas of mutual interest between the US and Russia. Mr. Lavrov said “the two sides agreed to fast-track the appointment of new ambassadors, and senior diplomats from the two countries will meet shortly to discuss specifics related to “lifting artificial barriers to the work of the US and Russian embassies and other missions.”

Rubio said the US could “partner with the Russians geopolitically on issues of common interest and, frankly, economically.”The special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said ‘the meeting was positive, upbeat and constructive.” U.S. 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.

Ukraine and Europe were not seen at the negotiation talks but Rubio said “no one is being sidelined here, there is going to be engagement and consultation with Ukraine and with our partners in Europe and others. But ultimately, the Russian side will be indispensable to this effort.”

Both sides briefly discussed a potential meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. During a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on February 18, Trump said he was more confident after the talks and suggested that he might meet Putin before the end of this month.