THE United States and Russia have agreed to work on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine and improve bilateral ties during extensive high-level talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. In the first face-to-face interactions between senior U.S. and Russian officials since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the Russian delegation, led by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the Kremlin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was accompanied by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff. Following the four-and-a-half-hour talks, Witkoff described the Riyadh talks as “positive, upbeat, constructive.” Ushakov said it was a “serious discussion of all the issues we wanted to touch upon,” noting the two sides agreed to take into account each other’s interests and develop bilateral relations. The United States and Russia agreed to “establish a consultation mechanism to address irritants to our bilateral relationship with the objective of taking steps necessary to normalize the operation of our respective diplomatic missions,” according to a statement by the U.S. Department of State. Washington and Moscow will appoint respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible in a way that is enduring, sustainable, and acceptable to all sides, the statement said. The two sides agreed to “l(fā)ay the groundwork for future cooperation on matters of mutual geopolitical interest and historic economic and investment opportunities which will emerge from a successful end to the conflict in Ukraine,” the statement added. In a press conference following the meeting, Lavrov described the discussions as “very useful,” emphasizing Russia’s firm stance that the deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine is unacceptable. Last week, Trump had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that lasted nearly an hour and a half, during which the Russian president extended an invitation for Trump to visit Moscow. Both sides pledged to keep communication channels open to address accumulated issues in bilateral relations. The U.S. government under Joe Biden had taken a firm stance alongside its European allies, throwing its full support behind Ukraine by providing substantial military aid and isolating Russia on the international stage. But the U.S. stance is changing. Washington has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with its European allies for not pulling their weight in defense spending. What has further unsettled the European countries and Ukraine is that the high-profile talks between the United States and Russia excluded both Europe and Ukraine. (Xinhua) | 