US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that ties between Washington and Moscow could improve if the war in Ukraine ends.

Rubio told reporters that there are "extraordinary opportunities for partnership" with Russia, adding that "the key to that is the end of this conflict."

For his part, the Russian foreign minister said the US had "better understood" Moscow's position.

"The conversation, I think, was very useful. We did not just listen to each other, we heard each other and I have reason to believe that the American side understood our position better," Lavrov said.

Another representative of the Russian delegation said the talks were serious.

Negotiations to end the war in Ukraine will focus on territory and security guarantees, U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said.

"This should be a final end to the war, not a temporary end as we have seen in the past," Waltz told a news conference in the Saudi capital, adding, "There will be a discussion of territory and there will be a discussion of security guarantees."

Rubio added that European countries will have to join the negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

"There are other countries that have sanctions (against Russia), the European Union will have to get involved at some point because it also has sanctions," Rubio said.

The U.S. State Department also said Rubio and Lavrov agreed to "appoint appropriate high-level teams to begin working toward ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible in a way that is durable, sustainable and acceptable to all parties."

BGNES recalls that US and Russian delegations met at Riyadh's Diriya Palace in Saudi Arabia to talk about restoring bilateral relations - the first such talks since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Both countries played down expectations of a breakthrough at this first meeting since US President Donald Trump took office.

The very fact that the meeting is taking place at a bilateral level has raised concerns in Ukraine and Europe following signs of a convergence between Washington and Moscow's positions.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Rubio was accompanied by US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Whitkoff.

Lavrov was accompanied by senior adviser to the Russian president Yury Ushakov. The meeting was attended by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and National Security Adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that Kiev "knows nothing about" the Riyadh talks, adding "we will not recognize any agreements for us without us." | BGNES