US-Russia diplomatic talks will resume within 14 days to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war, following a landmark meeting in Saudi Arabia that rekindled dialogue after three years of silence. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov confirmed plans to address bilateral irritants,with discussions hosted in an undisclosed third country. This development coincides with a contentious UN resolution draft that avoids assigning blame for the conflict.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov emphasized Russia’s alignment with the Trump administration’s push for urgent peace talks, contrasting sharply with President Trump’s recent dismissal of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a dictator.
[The Trump administration] talks about establishing peace through negotiations,Peskov stated, criticizing the Biden administration’s lack of proactive peace efforts.
Central to the negotiations is Russia’s demand for NATO to withdraw all forces from Eastern European nations that joined after 1997 – a repeat of Vladimir Putin’s pre-invasion ultimatum. Romanian official Cristian Diaconescu warned,
There are no guarantees the US will reject this demand in future rounds.NATO members, particularly Baltic states, fear exposure to Russian aggression if security guarantees lapse.
The Biden administration adamantly opposes concessions on NATO’s presence, echoing its 2022 stance. Meanwhile, the US mission at the UN has prepared a neutral draft resolution marking the war’s third anniversary, diverging from a G7 proposal condemning Moscow. Though non-binding, the resolution signifies shifting geopolitical alignments.
Key unresolved issues include:
- Russia’s insistence on NATO rollback
- US hesitance to formally blame Moscow
- Zelenskyy’s contested legitimacy amid Trump’s criticism
With Ukraine’s Kherson region still under bombardment and diplomatic fault lines deepening, analysts warn these negotiations could either de-escalate the deadliest European conflict since WWII – or amplify global tensions.
