Rubio arrives in Saudi Arabia before Russia talks to end Ukraine war

US-Russia ties and Ukraine war will be on the table as top diplomats from Moscow and Washington meet in Saudi Arabia's Riyadh, while a concerned Europe remains in the shadows.

Though a tentative start to ending the Russia-Ukraine war, about to near a three-year mark, both sides said the first high-level meet since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine is unlikely to result in concrete outcomes. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, will also discuss the war in Ukraine. The talks come after US President Donald Trump held talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, while the American defence chief rule out Ukraine joining NATO.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the talks would be "primarily devoted to restoring the whole complex of Russian-American relations", alongside discussions on "possible negotiations on a Ukrainian resolution, and organising a meeting between the two presidents".