Riyadh. The top diplomats from Russia and the United States met Tuesday in Saudi Arabia to discuss improving ties and negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine -- talks that reflected a major and rapid change in American foreign policy under President Donald Trump.

No Ukrainian officials were present at the meeting, which came as the beleaguered country is slowly but steadily losing ground against more numerous Russian troops in a grinding war that began nearly three years ago. President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country won’t accept any outcome from this week's talks if Kyiv doesn't take part. European allies have also expressed concerns they are being sidelined.

Beyond Ukraine, the meeting -- attended by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other senior officials -- had been expected to focus on thawing relations between the two countries, whose ties have fallen to their lowest level in decades.

Improving Russian-US Relations
In an interview with The Associated Press after the meeting, Rubio said the two sides agreed broadly to pursue three goals: to restore staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow, to create a high-level team to support Ukraine peace talks, and to explore closer relations and economic cooperation.

Both embassies have been hit hard by expulsions of large numbers of diplomats over the course of several years as relations soured and the US, along with European nations, imposed a raft of sanctions on Russia. The allies have repeatedly expanded the measures to damage its economy.

“Should this conflict come to an acceptable end, the incredible opportunities that exist to partner with the Russians geopolitically on issues of common interest and frankly, economically on issues that hopefully will be good for the world and also improve our relations in the long term,” Rubio said.

His remarks were further evidence of the remarkable US reversal on Russia after years in which Trump’s predecessor led international efforts to isolate Moscow.

Tuesday's meeting was meant to pave the way for a summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. After the talks wrapped, Putin’s foreign affairs advisor, Yuri Ushakov, told Russia’s Channel One that no date has been set yet for that summit but that it was “unlikely” to take place next week.

Ushakov’s remarks suggested the two sides made little progress. Russia and the United States agreed to “take each other’s interests into account” and advance their relations. He added that it was “hard to say” that the two countries’ positions “are getting closer, but there was talk about it.”

Previously, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the talks would be primarily focused on “restoring the entire range of US-Russian relations, as well as preparing possible talks on the Ukrainian settlement and organizing a meeting of the two presidents.” US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce has said the meeting was aimed at determining how serious the Russians are about wanting peace and whether detailed negotiations can be started.

Concerns from Allies They Are Being Sidelined
The recent US diplomatic blitz on the war has sent Ukraine and key allies scrambling to ensure a seat at the table amid concerns that Washington and Moscow could press ahead with a deal that won’t be favorable to them.

Kyiv's absence at Tuesday's talks has rankled many Ukrainians, and France called an emergency meeting of European Union countries and the UK on Monday to discuss the war.

Rubio said Tuesday that ending Russia’s war in Ukraine would require concessions from all sides and that Europe would be a part of talks.

When asked about sanctions against Russia, Rubio noted that the measures were imposed as a result of Russia’s invasion and that it’s not just the US that has imposed them.

“The European Union is going to have to be at the table at some point because they have sanctions as well that have been imposed,” he said.

Kyiv’s participation in such talks was a bedrock of US policy under Joe Biden, whose administration also led international efforts to isolate Russia over the war.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said he spoke by phone to Trump and Zelensky following the meeting he called in Paris.

“We seek a strong and lasting peace in Ukraine,” Macron wrote on social media platform X. “To achieve this, Russia must end its aggression, and this must be accompanied by strong and credible security guarantees for the Ukrainians,” he said and vowed to “work on this together with all Europeans, Americans, and Ukrainians.”

Peskov on Tuesday said that Putin has repeatedly expressed readiness for peace talks, and noted that a durable settlement of the conflict in Ukraine would be impossible without “a comprehensive consideration of security issues” in Europe.

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