US, Russia talks begin in Saudi Arabia to negotiate an end to Ukraine war

Top Russian and US officials meet for talks on improving ties and negotiating an end to the Ukraine war.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser to President Vladimir Putin, arrived Monday in the capital Riyadh.

During the talks, the US is represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

The meeting comes after US President Donald Trump held separate phone calls last week with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a bid to end the three-year war.

But Ukraine will not participate in the talks, since it wasn't invited.

Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine would "never accept" any deal struck without Kiev's participation.

Zelenskyy will meet with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday in the capital Ankara, where they will discuss bilateral relations, the latest developments in Ukraine, and other regional and global issues.

The leaders of several major European countries gathered in Paris on Monday at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss transatlantic relations, the situation in Ukraine, possible peace negotiations, and security in Europe.

US-European relations deteriorated this month after Trump initiated direct discussions with Putin about Ukraine peace talks without European involvement.

At the weekend Munich Security Conference, Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, confirmed that Europeans would not be invited to planned US-Russia peace talks on Ukraine.