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Russian delegations have ended four-and-a-half-hour talks in Riyadh on restoring bilateral ties and ending the war in Ukraine, the first high-level negotiations on the conflict since the early months of Vladimir Putin’s invasion three years ago.
Yuri Ushakov, the Russian president’s foreign policy adviser, told reporters the delegations held “a very serious conversation about all issues”, according to the Tass news agency.
He said Tuesday’s talks in Riyadh were “not bad” and Russia and the US had “agreed to take each others’ interests into account”, but it was “hard to say” they were “growing closer”.
Secretary of state Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and special envoy Steve Witkoff led the US delegation.
In a sight almost unthinkable even a few weeks ago, Russian and American flags flew next to each other outside of the opulent palace.
The diplomatic meeting was the first of its kind between the US and Russia since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
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