Veteran Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was clear as he led his delegation to the high-stakes diplomatic talks with his US counterparts in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh: Resetting of collapsed bilateral ties.
Ending the Ukraine war was only a part of a bigger agenda. Lifting economic sanctions, nuclear cooperation and reignited diplomatic cooperation were central to a greater agenda. Moscow and Washington have not held any meaningful direct talks throughout the Biden administration’s last three-and-half years of occupying the White House.
The Riyadh meeting appears to have yielded massive results. The two sides agreed to pave a way for a summit of both Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. It will take place in Riyadh at a date yet to be confirmed.
Briefing the media after the talks, Minister Lavrov exuded optimism about the future of Russia-US relations.
Among a series of positive takeaways, the Russian top envoy said there was “agreement to ensure the swift appointment of ambassadors to enhance bilateral diplomatic relations” between the two nuclear superpowers.
Also, it was agreed during the meeting behind closed doors “to remove obstacles that the Biden administration has created over the past four years, which have hindered the work of our diplomatic missions”.
The third agreement was to “form a process for Ukrainian conflict resolution, with negotiators being appointed on the near future”.
Also of greater importance was to “create conditions for the resumption of bilateral cooperation, alongside resolving the Ukraine crisis”, Minister Lavrov said.
He added that Russia “will hold regular consultations on Ukraine once negotiating teams” were appointed by both Moscow and Washington.
He also cautioned against UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s proposal during the EU leaders’ meeting in Paris this week to send troops to Ukraine as part of a peace deal, saying that would be “unacceptable”. A host of other EU nations were also opposed to the idea. Of greater importance is the disinterest of the US to have any boots on the ground in Ukraine. President Trump has publicly lambasted his predecessor for fuelling a “stupid war”.
