The four-and-a-half hour talks on February 18 between high-ranking delegations from Russia and the United States in Saudi Arabia ended successfully.
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| Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (2nd from left) and his US counterpart Marco Rubio (4th from left) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 18. (Source: TASS) |
TASS news agency quoted Mr. Yuri Ushakov, foreign policy adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a member of the negotiating team, as saying that the two sides discussed the conditions for the meeting between President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump.
According to the Russian official, the Putin-Trump meeting is unlikely to take place next week and there is currently no specific date for the meeting.
The Guardian summarizes some of the key outcomes of the talks:
First, US and Russian diplomats agreed to restart diplomatic relations between the two countries and appoint ambassadors "as soon as possible" to help resolve any tensions that may arise in bilateral relations.
According to Secretary of State Marcor Rubio, both countries want to explore further "extraordinary opportunities" for geopolitical and economic cooperation , but only if they agree on a peace deal for Ukraine first.
Second, Russia and the US plan to start formal consultations on a peace deal in Ukraine . The talks are expected to take place “regularly”, with Washington appointing a team to handle the issue.
The US said the talks would include discussions on territory and security guarantees, as the priority would be “ending the conflict permanently”, but did not comment on what that meant for the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014 but not recognised by Ukraine and many of its allies.
The US side also emphasized the inclusion of Ukraine and the European Union (EU) in the negotiations with certain roles, but did not commit to having them at the negotiating table. The head of the US Department of State affirmed, "all parties involved in the conflict must agree to that, they must accept that".
Any post-conflict peace guarantee must be "European-led", US officials said, reiterating calls for European allies to increase defence spending and praising Britain and France for "discussing a stronger contribution to Ukraine's security".
However, Russia has ruled out the possibility of deploying European peacekeeping forces to Ukraine . Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated after the meeting that "NATO expansion and Ukraine's accession to the North Atlantic alliance are a direct threat to the interests of the Russian Federation and a direct threat to our sovereignty."
According to him, the US side has made clear Russia's stance that the appearance of armed forces from NATO countries, whether under the EU flag or national flag, will not change anything and is of course "unacceptable".
Meanwhile, according to Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich, Russia and the US are proposing a three-phase peace plan that includes a ceasefire, elections in Ukraine and then signing a final agreement.
This reporter also said that Moscow and Washington consider holding elections in Ukraine as one of the key conditions for a successful resolution of the conflict in this Eastern European country.
In a related development, on the same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that President Vladimir Putin is ready to negotiate with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, but how agreements can be signed legally is a subject that needs serious discussion, because "the reality of Mr. Zelensky's legitimacy must be taken into account."
The Ukrainian constitution does not provide for postponing presidential elections during martial law, even though Mr Zelensky's presidential term ends on May 20, 2024.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/ket-qua-dam-phan-nga-my-ket-thuc-thanh-cong-de-xuat-ke-hoach-hoa-binh-3-giai-doan-nguy-co-eu-va-ukraine-bi-gat-khoi-ban-hoa-dam-304798.html
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