Immediate results from the US dialogue.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, along with several high-ranking officials from both sides, held a four-and-a-half-hour dialogue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on February 18 (local time). This marked the first time senior US and Russian officials met to discuss ways to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict as it approaches its third anniversary (February 24, 2022 - February 24, 2025).

We agree to pursue three goals.

In an interview with AP following the talks in Riyadh, Foreign Minister Rubio said the two sides had agreed on pursuing three goals: restoring staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow, establishing a high-level group to support peace talks on Ukraine, and seeking closer ties and economic cooperation.

Trump 'hears Ukraine is upset', possibly meeting with Putin in February.

However, Rubio stressed that the meeting in Riyadh only marked the beginning of negotiations and that both sides needed to do much more.

Following the aforementioned meeting, Rubio emphasized that only US President Donald Trump can bring the conflict in Ukraine to an end, according to CNN. He added that President Trump wants the war in Ukraine to end "in a fair, lasting, sustainable, and acceptable way for all parties involved," and that US and Russian officials have agreed on this goal.

Foreign Minister Lavrov (left) and Foreign Minister Rubio in Riyadh on February 18.

President Trump said on February 18 that he felt more confident after the US-Russia talks in Riyadh and that he might meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the end of the month, according to Reuters. However, he dismissed Ukraine's concerns about being excluded from the Riyadh talks, saying Kyiv should have joined the negotiations earlier. "I think I have the power to end this war," Trump emphasized.

On the Russian side, Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the dialogue with the US in Riyadh was very useful and that both delegations had worked "quite successfully" to improve relations, according to RT. Lavrov affirmed that there was a "mutual desire" to find a solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. On the other hand, Lavrov reiterated that Kyiv's accession to NATO would be a direct threat to Russia, and Moscow would not accept the possibility of NATO or its member states deploying troops to Ukraine.

What options are available for Ukraine?

As US-Russia talks took place in Riyadh without the presence of the Ukrainian side, Kyiv declared that negotiations on how to end the conflict with Russia should not take place behind Ukraine's back. On February 18, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he had postponed his planned visit to Saudi Arabia until next month. Reuters, citing several informed sources, reported that Zelensky made this decision to avoid recognizing the talks in Riyadh.

Russia takes a tougher stance in negotiations with the US as Ukraine is excluded from dialogue.

Following this event, addressing concerns from both Ukraine and Europe, Foreign Minister Rubio affirmed that no party would be excluded from negotiations aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and that any solution must be acceptable to all parties. Rubio added that he believed Russia was "ready to begin engaging in a serious process," but that achieving peace required concessions from all sides.

Meanwhile, former senior Pentagon official Evelyn Farkas suggested that Ukraine would ultimately vote on whether to accept a deal negotiated between Washington and Moscow, and might reject a bad deal. "In the worst-case scenario, Ukraine will continue fighting. If their defenses collapse, I don't think the Americans want to see those images on television and have to take responsibility," Farkas commented.

The conflict continues.

The Ukrainian Air Force claims to have shot down 106 of the 167 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and two missiles launched by Russia into Ukraine on the night of February 18 and the early morning of February 19, according to Reuters. The Ukrainian Air Force also stated that 56 other UAVs failed to reach their targets, but did not specify what happened to the remaining five.

Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on February 19 that its air defense forces had intercepted nine Ukrainian drones in three Russian provinces, including Bryansk, Tatarstan, and Tula, and in the Black Sea on the evening of February 18, according to TASS news agency.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ket-qua-tuc-thi-tu-doi-thoai-my-nga-ve-ukraine-185250219224018082.htm