After announcing a reset of relations with the kremlin during a meeting with russian negotiators in Riyadh, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio tried to reassure nervous European allies within hours that the talks did not mean a sharp departure from American policy, as many feared.
This is reported by The New York Times.
Thus, this week, talks were held in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, which, Rubio said in a conversation with several European diplomats, were more like the first step in the process, a test of whether the kremlin was serious about concluding a deal.
The publication noted that European officials were unsure what to make of Rubio's measured assessment, which came at a time when leaders on the continent were trying to make sense of the apparent restoration of relations between Washington and Moscow.
Rubio reportedly told the Europeans that no, the Trump administration does not plan to impose the terms of any bilateral agreements with russia on Ukraine and Europe, according to a summary of the call prepared by European officials and reviewed by the newspaper.
He also said the administration would not lift U.S. sanctions on russia without a significant change in moscow’s behavior, although he left the door open for limited easing of some sanctions if the russians began taking steps the administration wants.
At the same time, Rubio said, the Trump administration has gained a clear understanding that russia could try to use the talks to sow division in the West or ease its isolation on the international stage.
The newspaper added that in the 24 hours since the Riyadh meeting, Mr. Trump has made a series of demands and false statements that appear to reflect the worldview of russian president vladimir putin, while blaming Ukraine for the war.
He has called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator and falsely claimed that Kyiv had somehow tricked the United States into supporting him in a war that Ukrainian leaders had started.
At the same time, Trump has not once criticized putin, who essentially started the war by invading Ukraine.
After meeting with russian officials in Riyadh for more than four hours on Tuesday, Mr. Rubio has publicly provided few details about what was accomplished. He said Russia and the United States had agreed to work toward a peaceful settlement for Ukraine, praising Mr. Trump as “the only leader in the world” who could bring about such a rapprochement between the longtime adversaries.
One of his counterparts in the American delegation, Steve Witkoff, the ambassador to the Middle East and a longtime friend of Mr. Trump, described the meeting as “positive, optimistic, constructive.”
Mr. Rubio’s message to European officials after the Riyadh meeting was more nuanced and conciliatory, according to a summary of a phone call that included officials from Britain, France, Germany and Italy. Part of the call was devoted to explaining why Ukrainians and Europeans were not included in the talks.
Mr. Rubio said this was not because the United States had sidelined its allies, as Mr. Trump’s remarks might suggest. Much of the conversation, he said, focused on bilateral issues between the United States and russia. That included opening a discussion about lifting restrictions on their embassies, which have been effectively closed in both countries because of the many diplomats who have been expelled.
Talks between U.S. and russian officials to lift those diplomatic restrictions would be the first test of russia’s intentions, Mr. Rubio said. A failure to negotiate the embassies would show that the kremlin is not serious about talks to end the war in Ukraine.
Mr. Rubio told the Europeans that he could not tell from this one meeting whether the russians were serious about making a deal. But he said they had given enough indication that it could be serious to warrant further talks.
Mr. Rubio concluded the call by promising to keep America’s allies informed and calling for unity.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, U.S. President Donald Trump's statements to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "exceeded" moscow's expectations and surprised even the leadership of the aggressor country, russia, with their harshness.
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