Russian-US officials discuss Ukraine war, without Kyiv

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov decided after meeting in Riyadh on Tuesday to appoint teams to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war, the US State Department said.

- Agencies

RIYADH:

Rubio and Lavrov agreed to "appoint respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible in a way that is enduring, sustainable, and acceptable to all sides", State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce said.

No Ukrainian officials were present at the meeting, which comes as the beleaguered country is slowly but steadily losing ground against more numerous Russian troops in a grinding war that began nearly three years ago. President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country won't accept any outcome from this week's talks if Kyiv doesn't take part.

European allies have also expressed concerns they are being sidelined.

The gathering is meant to pave the way for a meeting between US President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that the talks will be primarily focused on "restoring the entire range of US-Russian relations, as well as preparing possible talks on the Ukrainian settlement and organising a meeting of the two presidents."

US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said the meeting is aimed at determining how serious the Russians are about wanting peace and whether detailed negotiations can be started.