US and Russian officials have wrapped up the first round of talks on ending the Ukraine war. While Washington has talked about “concessions” on all sides, Moscow has appeared to draw some of its red lines – and Volodymyr Zelenskyy has since cancelled an upcoming visit. Follow updates here.
Tuesday 18 February 2025 16:43, UK
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France has called for a second summit to discuss Ukraine and Europe’s security, diplomatic sources have told the Reuters news agency.
It comes after European leaders gathered in Paris for talks on Monday in an effort to establish a united position on peace talks.
The reported summit will include NATO allies that were not invited on Monday, three sources told Reuters.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeated calls for Ukraine and Europe to be included in any peace negotiations.
Speaking earlier alongside Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, the Ukrainian leader said talks couldn’t take place “behind our backs” after US and Russian officials met today in Saudi Arabia.
Now, posting on Telegram, Zelenskyy says it’s of “fundamental importance” that negotiations include “key actors affected by the consequences of Russian aggression”.
“Ukraine, Europe – in a broad sense, which includes the European Union, Turkey and Britain – must be involved together with America in the talks and development of the necessary security guarantees that concern the fate of our part of the world,” he said.
Zelenskyy was due to visit Saudi Arabia himself tomorrow but ha postponed the trip until next month.
Two sources told Reuters this was in order not to give any “legitimacy” to the US-Russia meeting.
By James Matthews, US correspondent
The elephant in the room is the country that isn’t, still.
For all the assurances by a US secretary of state that Kyiv will be involved in talks over its future, there’s precious little evidence of it.
Similarly, Ukraine will take precious little encouragement from the discussions in Riyadh.
Consider the debrief from Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov: “I have reason to believe that the American side has started to better understand our position, which we have once again outlined in detail, using specific examples, based on President Putin’s repeated speeches.”
Is to “better understand” to go beyond a position whereby Ukraine cedes territory and all ambition of NATO membership?
That’s the ground already put up for grabs by the Americans – to hear Russia further reassured does nothing to enhance the notion that Ukraine and European allies will be involved and influential.
Having been given a seat back at the table, literally, the Russians framed these talks as an effort to improve US-Russia relations.
It’s a vision shared by the Americans. The US secretary of state shared the vision and spoke of restoring staff to their respective embassies and exploring closer economic cooperation.
He even invoked Russian interests in having European countries drop sanctions, stating: “The European Union is going to have to be at the table at some point because they have sanctions as well that have been imposed.”
On Ukraine, Rubio spoke of creating a “high-level team” to support Ukraine peace talks, but there’s every impression of a low-level priority for Ukrainian interests.
The US secretary of state said concessions would have to be made on all sides – it doesn’t square with Ukraine’s starting point for negotiations, that concession must come from the aggressor.
It is the awkward discussion that doesn’t fit the framework of enhanced US-Russia relations, something that’s fast emerged as Washington’s main priority.
Those in Donald Trump’s orbit talk about his broader ambitions around a resetting of the geopolitical structure that has closer ties with Moscow at its heart.
The same people say that Ukraine is a small part of that picture.
Nothing that happened in Riyadh contradicts that message.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan says his country could host talks on ending the war between Ukraine and Russia.
“Turkey will be an ideal host for the possible talks between Russia, Ukraine and America in the near future,” he said following a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Erdogan called previous Russia-Ukraine talks held in Turkey in 2022 “an important reference point and the platform where the parties came closest to an agreement”.
He also said he supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent
A veteran foreign minister of 20 years, Sergei Lavrov is not one for big emotions. So when he says the talks were “not unsuccessful”, that’s diplomatic speak for “we’re pretty chuffed”.
And the Russians have plenty of reasons to cheer.
The imagery for starters – after three years in the international wilderness, they once again have a seat at the table. Quite literally.
And this wasn’t just any table. This was superpower to superpower. A visual representation of respect from Washington, that will go a long way in Moscow.
I think Russia will also be extremely pleased by the noises that have come from the other side of the table.
The Kremlin’s got the US talking about geopolitical and economic cooperation. The State Department even mentioned “historic investment opportunities” in the same sentence as an end to the war.
That suggests, to me, the removal of sanctions and the resumption of relations with Moscow is all tied into a peace deal, which I think Russia will count as a victory already.
And while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke of all sides needing to make concessions, there hasn’t been any sign of that from Moscow. Quite the opposite.
In his comments after the talks finished, Lavrov took the chance to reassert Russia’s red lines – no NATO membership for Ukraine and no NATO member troops there either.
Normally a negotiation is about give-and-take, but at the moment, Ukraine will no doubt feel like it’s the US giving and Russia only taking.
By Ed Conway, economics and data editor
Deep under the ground in the east of Ukraine sits a veritable mineral motherlode: rich reserves of coal, dense concentrations of iron ore and, further west in Nikopol, some of the world’s biggest resources of manganese – as well as other, more exotic minerals.
The geological riches of the Donbas and its neighbouring regions have long been looked at with envy by the country’s friends, enemies and neighbours as a prize.
In the 19th century, Tsar Alexander II pinpointed the basin of the Donets River as the ideal spot for iron and steelworks – in large part because of the dense deposits of coal and iron.
In the Second World War, Adolf Hitler coveted Ukraine’s natural resources and eventually ended up invading the region for them – though Ukrainians spent most of the occupation refusing to mine and smelt them.
Now Donald Trump is the latest world leader with his eye on Ukrainian minerals, in this case as a form of reparations for the billions of dollars America has spent supporting the country following Russia’s invasion.
Read Ed’s full analysis on the saga in the link below…
We’ve just heard from Volodymyr Zelenskyy who has been speaking in Turkey.
He called for “fair” peace talks on Ukraine after officials from the US and Russia met for talks today in Saudi Arabia (see last post).
Zelenskyy arrived in Turkey by plane last night and has been involved in talks throughout today with Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
We’re now hearing from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has been meeting Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
He first speaks about the talks between US and Russian officials happening today in Saudi Arabia.
“We want no one to decide anything behind our backs … No decision can be made without Ukraine on how to end the war in Ukraine,” he told reporters.
Zelenskyy, who has announced he has postponed his visit tomorrow to Saudi Arabia until 10 March, insists Europe should also be involved in the discussion about the end to the war in Ukraine.
Erdogan, meanwhile, reiterated Turkey’s “full support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty”.
It’s 2.30pm in the UK, 5.30pm in Saudi Arabia.
If you’re just joining us, US and Russian officials have finished their first round of talks on the war in Ukraine.
Here’s a brief summary of everything you need to know this afternoon…
We’ve just heard from Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov after meeting US officials in Saudi Arabia.
Reflecting on the talks, he says they were useful, adding both sides showed “commitment to find solutions”.
US and Russian officials agreed to form a process for a settlement in the war in Ukraine, Lavrov says, adding “we also agreed to create conditions to restore our cooperation in full”.
Turning more specifically to the situation around NATO, Lavrov said Russian officials explained to the US delegation that expansion of the alliance is a “direct threat to Russia”.
“We’ve told the US that deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine, even under other flags, is unacceptable for Russia,” he added.
For context: Sir Keir Starmer said he is prepared to put “our own troops on the ground if necessary” in Ukraine if there is a deal to end the war with Russia.
Speaking before European leaders met in Paris yesterday, Starmer said he was “ready and willing” to put British troops into a peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
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