Wednesday Briefing

Discussions on Ukraine and U.S.-Russia ties

Senior U.S. and Russian officials agreed yesterday not only to work together on ending the war in Ukraine, but also to cooperate on financial investment and re-establishing normal relations. The negotiations were the most extensive in years between the two global powers.

The meeting, which took place in Saudi Arabia, was a head-spinning reset of the Russia-U.S. relationship after three years of Western efforts to isolate Moscow for invading Ukraine in 2022, an approach that has included sanctions and weapon deliveries to Ukraine. President Trump also showed his willingness to cast aside the worries of European allies.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, U.S. officials did not dwell on Russia’s violation of international law in attacking Ukraine, on the war crimes Moscow has been accused of or on the three years of devastation caused by Russian shelling and bombardment. Instead, U.S. officials repeatedly praised Trump for trying to stop the fighting by talking to Russia in a way that former President Biden had not.

What’s next: Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, said that the U.S. would engage with Russia about what the end of the war with Ukraine would look like, as well as how to remove restrictions on their embassies in Moscow and Washington and would also explore new partnerships in geopolitics and in business.

What else is on the table: Russia appeared to use the talks to cater to Trump’s interest in profits and natural resources, arguing that U.S. oil companies and others stood to gain hundreds of billions of dollars by doing business in Russia again.

Ukraine: In response, President Volodymyr Zelensky canceled his own visit to Saudi Arabia, which was planned for today. “Decisions on how to end the war in Ukraine cannot be made without Ukraine, nor can any conditions be imposed,” he said. “We were not invited to this Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia. It was a surprise for us, I think for many others as well.”