Dialogue in Saudi Arabia: Russia, US hold talks to end Ukraine war

• US says both countries will name high-level teams
• Ukraine not at the talks, rejects deals without its consent
• Nato must cancel 2008 promise of Ukraine membership: Russia
   

US President Donald Trump's administration yesterday said it agreed to hold more talks with Russia on ending the war in Ukraine after an initial meeting that excluded Kyiv, a departure from Washington's previous approach that rallied US allies to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As the 4-1/2-hour meeting in the Saudi capital was under way, Russia hardened its demands, notably insisting it would not tolerate the Nato alliance granting membership for Kyiv.

It was the first time US and Russian officials have sat down together to discuss ways to halt the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two. Ukraine has said it will not accept any deal imposed without its consent, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated "there must be no decision over the heads of Ukraine."

Even before the talks took place, some European politicians accused Trump's administration of handing free concessions to Moscow last week by ruling out Nato membership for Ukraine and saying it was an illusion for Kyiv to believe it could win back the 20% of its territory now under Russian control.

US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told reporters in Riyadh that the war must come to a permanent end, and this would involve negotiations over territory.

"Just a practical reality is that there is going to be some discussion of territory and there's going to be discussion of security guarantees," he said.

High-level teams would begin talks on ending the conflict and would separately work to restore the countries' respective diplomatic missions in Washington and Moscow to ease the talks going forward, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

Rubio said he came away from the initial talks convinced that Russia was "willing to begin to engage in a serious process" but that reaching peace would involve concessions from all sides.

Addressing Ukrainian and European concerns, Rubio said no one was being sidelined, the European Union needed to be involved at some point, and any solution must be acceptable to all parties.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had postponed a visit to Saudi Arabia planned for Wednesday until next month. Sources familiar with the matter said the decision was made to avoid giving "legitimacy" to the US-Russia talks.

Kyiv says talks on how to end the war should not be held behind Ukraine's back.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters in Moscow it was "not enough" for Nato not to admit Ukraine as a member. She said the alliance must go further by disavowing a promise it made at a summit in Bucharest in 2008 that Kyiv would join at a future, unspecified date.

"Otherwise, this problem will continue to poison the atmosphere on the European continent," she said.

Zelenskiy has consistently demanded Nato membership as the only way to guarantee Kyiv's sovereignty and independence from its nuclear-armed neighbour.

Ukraine agreed to give up its Soviet-era nuclear weapons in 1994 in exchange for assurances of independence and sovereignty within its existing borders from Russia, the US and Britain.