The Guardian: US and Russia to explore closer relations after Ukraine talks in Riyadh … happiness and hopes for peace but still a long way to go

US and Russian officials met for the first time since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis to discuss peace.

There js reason for happiness and hope but also clearly a careful attitude as there is little trust. Russia set its red lines, again. The US considering all options but may need to obtain agreements from all parties involved. In particular, US Foreign Secretary Rubio said that the EU and UK must be willing to lift European sanctions.

According to The Guardian, the US and Russia have agreed on the 1st meeting day as follows:

US and Russian diplomats have agreed to restart diplomatic relations between the two countries, and intend to appoint ambassadors ‘as soon as possible’ to help with resolving any tensions that may arise in bilateral relations.

As a second step, they intend to start formal consultations on a peace deal on Ukraine, with Russia waiting for the US to name its top team, and negotiations expected to follow on a “regular” basis.

The talks would include discussions on territory and security guarantees, as the priority would be on making it “a permanent end to the war,” US said, but refused to discuss what it would mean for Crimea, for example.

The US side has insisted that they would involve Ukraine and the European Union in the talks in some role, but without committing to giving them a place at the table. US state secretary Marco Rubio said that “everyone involved in that conflict has to be OK with it, it has to be acceptable to them”.

Any postwar peace guarantee would have to be “European-led,” US officials said, repeating calls for European allies to increase defence spending and praising the UK and France for “talking about contributing more forcefully to Ukraine’s security”.

But Russia ruled out any deployment of European peacekeeping forces to Ukraine, with Lavrov pointedly saying it would be “completely unacceptable” as he called Nato’s expansion eastwards “a direct threat to the Russian Federation”.

In the longer term, both countries want to explore further geopolitical and economic cooperation, with Rubio praising “extraordinary opportunities,” but only if they agree on a peace deal for Ukraine first, the US said.