Negotiations between the United States and Russia have officially begun to find a resolution to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Both nations have set up high-level teams to advance discussions on ending the three-year-long conflict.
During a press conference at the White House on Wednesday (19), former US President Donald Trump remarked that Russia aimed to put an end to the “barbarianism” taking place in Ukraine.
Addressing the heavy casualties, he said, “Russia wants to do something. They want to stop the barbarianism that’s going on over there. Soldiers are being killed by thousands on a weekly basis. Apart from Russian and Ukrainian soldiers, a lot of Koreans have been killed. We want to end it.”
The negotiations commenced in Riyadh at Diriyah Palace on Tuesday (18). US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reached an agreement to “appoint respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible.”
This marks the first official high-level dialogue between Washington and Moscow since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Rubio stated that European nations might be included in future discussions due to their sanctions on Russia.
Trump reiterated his long-standing claim that the war would not have happened if he had been president. “It’s a senseless war. It should have never happened; it would have never happened if I were President,” he stated.
Criticizing Ukraine’s leadership, Trump added, “Today I heard, oh, well, we weren’t invited. Well, you’ve been there for three years. You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the U.S. and Russia for excluding Ukraine from the negotiations. He asserted that his country would not recognize any outcome from the talks since Ukraine was not an active participant.
Yuri Ushakov, a key aide in Russian foreign policy, confirmed that negotiating teams had been appointed but noted that setting a date for a potential Trump-Putin meeting was “difficult.” However, Trump had previously indicated his intention to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the end of the month.
As the US and Russia navigate these discussions, the global community watches closely to see whether these negotiations will lead to a ceasefire or a lasting resolution in Ukraine.
