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February 2025 United States–Russia summit in Saudi Arabia

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US and Russian delegates meet in Riyadh on 18 Feb 2025 to discuss improving ties and ending the war in Ukraine.

On 18 February 2025, 3 American delegates led by Marco Rubio and 2 Russian delegates led by Sergey Lavrov met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to discuss improving Russia–United States relations and plans to end the war in Ukraine.[1] Despite the meeting being primarily about Ukraine, no Ukrainian or European delegations were invited to the summit.[1][2] United States President Donald Trump has dismissed Ukrainian concerns that Ukraine was not invited to the summit, and also apparently implied Ukraine was to blame for starting the war.[3] The Riyadh summit was the most extensive diplomatic meeting between the United States and Russia since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.[4]

Background

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The summit came less than a week after Donald Trump's phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 12 February 2025 on a wide range of topics in which Trump and Putin agreed to begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.[5][6] The day before the summit, several European leaders met in Paris to discuss the war in Ukraine.[7] At the time of the summit, Russia forces had been making slow gains in southeastern Ukraine, however Ukrainian troops still occupied parts of Russia around the town of Sudzha.[8][9] Trump had previously promised to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, however he later rolled back on this promise, saying his administration's new goal is to end the war within 100 days of taking office.[10] The meeting was also held only two days after the conclusion of the 2025 Munich Security Conference, in which United States Vice President JD Vance made several controversial remarks on Europe, criticising German mainstream political parties' firewall against far-right parties in Germany and downplaying the threat of Russia to Europe.[11][12]

On 16 February 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Ukraine and Europe would be part of any future "real negotiations" to end the war. President Trump said on the same day that the Ukrainian President Zelenskyy "will be involved" in peace negotiations.[13]

United States–Russia summit

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The call and summit represented a major shift in United States foreign policy towards Russia, as Trump criticised Ukrainian peace negotiation in the war, saying "I'm very disappointed [in Ukraine]" and that "You’ve [Ukraine] been there for three years. You should have ended it three years [ago] – you should have never started it. You could have made a deal".[3][6][14] Trump later said that Russia did invade, but that the United States shouldn't have let Russia attack.[15] The summit was held in Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.[16] United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov led the American and Russian delegations, respectively.[1][17] On the American side, Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff, and Mike Waltz represented the United States at the summit while Sergey Lavrov and Yuri Ushanov represented Russia.[17] The day before, several European officials met in Paris to discuss the war in Ukraine and the recent American reversal in foreign policy, including proposing to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine.[3][18] However, Sergey Lavrov rejected any NATO peacekeeping force in Ukraine during the summit, saying "the expansion of NATO, the absorption of Ukraine by the North Atlantic alliance, is a direct threat to the interests of the Russian Federation."[3] Russia and the United States also agreed to restore staffing at each other's embassies.[4][19]

The summit laid the groundwork for a future meeting between Putin and Trump, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying the meeting could take place before the end of February.[19][20] Marco Rubio said a potential meeting between Trump and Putin would "largely depend on whether we can make progress on ending the war in Ukraine."[21]

Responses

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. No Ukrainians were invited to the Riyadh summit.[1]
  •  Ukraine: In response to Ukraine not being invited to the Riyadh summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cancelled a planned visit to Saudi Arabia.[2] Zelenskyy has also said that he will not accept any deal imposed on Ukraine without Ukraine's input.[22] The summit led to the sharp deterioration of relations between Zelenskyy and Trump, after Trump called Zelenskyy a "dictator" and Zelenskyy said Trump was in a "disinformation bubble".[23]
  •  United States: According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Trump wanted to know if Russia is serious about ending the war, and stated "the only way is to test them, to basically engage them and say, 'Okay, are you serious about ending the war? And if so, what are your demands? Are your public demands and your private demands different?'"[21]
  •  United Kingdom: On 19 February 2025, Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Zelenskyy on the phone, saying that "it was perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during war time as the UK did during World War II". Starmer also "reiterated his support for the US-led efforts to get a lasting peace in Ukraine that deterred Russia from any future aggression".[24] Starmer later said after a second call with Zelenskyy on 22 Feb that he would back Ukraine in peace talks with Donald Trump, and that safeguarding Ukrainian sovereignty was "essential to deter future aggression from Russia".[25]
  •  Finland: Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen said on 21 February 2025 that, "Peace in Ukraine must be just and lasting. Europe must take a leading role in supporting Ukraine. We must continue our support so that Ukraine will be able to negotiate from as powerful a position as possible. There can be no negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine and no negotiations about Europe without Europe".[27]
  •  Estonia: Head of the Estonian delegation to the OSCE Winter Meeting Mati Raidma said that "Global power relations are changing before our very eyes" and that Estonia must show full solidarity with Ukraine "in every possible way".[28]
  •  Germany: Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in response to the Riyadh summit that "A sham peace, which would merely grant Russia a reprieve to prepare for new military offensives, would serve no one: not Ukraine, not Europe, and not the United States" and that "We [Germany] will also need to further increase our bilateral support for Ukraine and take the necessary budgetary decisions whether we like it or not".[29]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "U.S., Russia agree to "begin working on a path" to end Ukraine war, in meeting in Saudi Arabia with no Ukrainians - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 18 February 2025. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
  2. ^ a b Walsh, Nick Paton (18 February 2025). "US-Russia summit ends in a partial victory for Moscow – and a reversal on Europe". CNN. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d Sauer, Pjotr; Harding, Luke; Smith, David (18 February 2025). "US and Russia agree to explore mutual opportunities of end to Ukraine war". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Russia and US agree to work toward ending Ukraine war in a remarkable diplomatic shift". AP News. 18 February 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  5. ^ "Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)". Truth Social. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  6. ^ a b "In phone call with Putin, Trump abruptly ends U.S. efforts to isolate Russia". PBS News. 13 February 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  7. ^ Kent, Lauren; Rios, Michael; Regan, Helen; Edwards, Christian (17 February 2025). "Barred from US-Russia talks on Ukraine, Europe scrambles for response with Paris summit". CNN. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  8. ^ "Ukraine Interactive map - Ukraine Latest news on live map - liveuamap.com". Ukraine Interactive map - Ukraine Latest news on live map - liveuamap.com. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  9. ^ "Russia Massing Thousands Of Troops In Kursk, Ukraine Says". RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service -RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. 6 November 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  10. ^ "Trump's promise to end the Ukraine war in a day meets harsh realities". NBC News. 17 January 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  11. ^ "JD Vance attacks Europe over free speech and migration". www.bbc.com. 15 February 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  12. ^ Alex Marquardt; Christian Edwards; Steve Contorno; Michael Williams (14 February 2025). "Vance turns on European allies in blistering speech that downplayed threats from Russia and China". CNN. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  13. ^ "US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Ukraine and Europe will be part of 'real' peace talks". Euronews. 17 February 2025. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  14. ^ "Donald Trump says he's 'disappointed' by Ukraine's reaction at being shut of out of talks on ending Russia war". Sky News. 19 February 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  15. ^ Bose, Nandita; Holland, Steve (21 February 2025). "In reversal, Trump says Russia attacked Ukraine". Reuters. Retrieved 22 February 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ Russia, U. S. Mission (18 February 2025). "Secretary Rubio's Meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Russia. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  17. ^ a b "Who was at the table in US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia?". www.bbc.com. 18 February 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  18. ^ Porter, Catherine; Erlanger, Steven (17 February 2025). "European Leaders Meet in Paris as U.S. Pushes Ahead With Ukraine Plan". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  19. ^ a b TLDR Daily (18 February 2025). US-Russia Talks on Ukraine Begin. Retrieved 21 February 2025 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ "US and Russia float Trump-Putin talks by end of February". POLITICO. 19 February 2025. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  21. ^ a b "Trump tells Putin, Zelenskyy to 'get together' to end war". Deutsche Welle. 22 February 2025.
  22. ^ Staff, Al Jazeera. "US-Russia Talks: Five takeaways from Rubio-Lavrov meeting on Ukraine war". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  23. ^ Dixon, Robyn; O'Grady, Siobhan; Ilyushina, Mary; Belton, Catherine (23 February 2025). "Feud with Trump has Ukraine on knife's edge". The Washington Post. pp. A1, A14.
  24. ^ "PM call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine: 19 February 2025". GOV.UK. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  25. ^ "I'll back Ukraine in talks with Trump, Starmer tells Zelensky". www.bbc.com. 23 February 2025. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  26. ^ "Minister Radosław Sikorski speaks in Brussels about Polish Presidency's common foreign and security policy priorities - Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Poland - Gov.pl website". Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Poland. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  27. ^ "EU Foreign Affairs Council to discuss Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, situation in the Middle East, Iran and the Democratic Republic of the Congo". Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  28. ^ Kruuse, Merilin (20 February 2025). "OSCE PA Winter Meeting focuses on supporting Ukraine". Riigikogu. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  29. ^ Amt, Auswärtiges. "Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on the Ukraine talks". German Federal Foreign Office. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  30. ^ "Saeima Speaker and Lithuanian Prime Minister: Ukraine Must Be at the Table in Peace Negotiations". saeima.lv. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
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