US, Russian diplomats hold talks in Riyadh – DW – 02/18/2025

French President Emmanuel Macron said he spoke with US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Monday’s meeting of European leaders.

Macron stressed that a peace agreement could only be sustainable if Russia ends its aggression and there are credible security guarantees for Ukraine.

“We will work on this together with all Europeans, Americans, and Ukrainians. This is the key,” he wrote on social media.

European leaders met in Paris on Monday for an emergency summit to discuss a unified strategy after Trump unexpectedly called for immediate talks following his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week.

They indicated they were “ready” to provide future security guarantees for Ukraine, “depending on the level of American support.”

They also insisted that no deal over Ukraine should be made behind their backs.

The Elysee Palace became a crisis hub for Europe on Monday, with French President Emmanuel Macron hosting heavyweight European leaders as they scrambled to avoid the future of their continent being written without them.

But while Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen insisted the talks were never supposed to yield concrete results, the fact is that Monday’s meeting created more new questions than answers on what Europe will do next.

The Paris leaders’ line-up, which included France, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, Poland and Italy — as well as top EU and NATO officials — seemed not so united on which security guarantees Europe could offer as part of a down-the-line deal in Ukraine.

Read more: Few answers to US-Russia riddle after Paris crisis talks

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will receive the US Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, in Brussels on Tuesday.

The meeting will focus on US President Donald Trump’s plans for Ukraine and the consequences for Europe. 

On Monday, Kellogg met with NATO ambassadors in Brussels. The Alliance’s Secretary General, Mark Rutte, wrote on X that the talks were about working together for a “just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for wide-ranging talks that are expected to focus on the war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin said the talks were to prepare for possible negotiations to resolve the Ukraine conflict and a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Neither representatives from Ukraine nor from European countries have been invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia. 

Although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also expected in Riyadh for talks with the Saudi leadership, he has stated that he does not recognize the legitimacy of the Rubio-Lavrov talks on Ukraine. 

He emphasized that any negotiations on the settlement of the conflict can only take place with the participation of the Ukrainian government.

This blog will bring you the latest coverage, analysis and multimedia content related to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Top US and Russian diplomats on Tuesday are expected to meet in Saudi Arabia to negotiate on the war between Russian and Ukraine.