Ukraine latest: U.S. and Russian officials meet in Saudi Arabia for peace talks as Europe at odds over troops plan

By JAMIE BULLEN

Published: 08:33 GMT, 18 February 2025 | Updated: 09:51 GMT, 18 February 2025

Senior U.S. and Russian officials are meeting in Saudi Arabia today to start talks on improving diplomatic ties and negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine.

The meeting at the Diriyah Palace in Riyadh marks a step by the Trump administration to reverse US policy on isolating Russia and could pave the way for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticised the approach with no Ukrainian officials taking part in discussions and has already declared he will not accept the outcome.

It comes after European leaders were divided over Keir Starmer’s call for Europe to ‘step up’ and deploy peacekeeping troops to Ukraine as Germany rejected the plan

Live updates below

Zelensky’s fury at Trump and ‘weak’ Europe

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a joint briefing with President of the European Investment Bank Nadia Calvino in Kyiv, Ukraine, on February 10, 2025. (Photo by Volodymyr Tarasov/Ukrinform) (Photo by Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Volodymyr Zelensky has slammed the United States for trying to ‘please’ Vladimir Putin so they can get a ‘quick win’ in talks with Moscow on Ukraine – the outcome of which Kyiv has said it will not accept.

Reacting to conciliatory comments towards Russia by US officials, Zelensky said: ‘The US is now saying things that are very favourable to Putin… because they want to please him.’

‘They want to meet quickly and have a quick win. But what they want – ‘just a ceasefire’ – is not a win,’ he added, according to a translation provided by broadcaster ARD of an interview recorded Saturday in Munich.

‘We [Ukraine] will not sign just anything in order to be applauded… the fate of our state for generations to come [is at stake].’

Read Elena Salvoni’s full report here

Top story: Europe at war over Starmer’s Ukraine peace plan

Let’s take a look at the current top story on MailOnline after European leaders met in Paris yesterday

SMARDAN, ROMANIA - FEBRUARY 17: British soldiers train in a forest during an exercise on February 17, 2025 in Smardan, Romania. The UK's 1st Division is commanding land forces during Exercise Steadfast Dart, as NATO Allied Reaction Force (ARF) training continues in Romania. The ARF was established in July 2024 amid a restructuring of the Alliance's high-readiness forces, with the capability of rapidly reinforcing NATO's eastern flank. The exercise includes 10,000 service personnel from nine nations, carried out across Romania, Greece, and Bulgaria during January and February. Steadfast Dart marks the first full-scale operational deployment of ARF, and this week coincides with the third anniversary of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. (Photo by Andrei Pungovschi/Getty Images)

Keir Starmer’s rallying cry for Europe to ‘step up’ and deploy peacekeeping troops to Ukraine was last night rejected by Germany at a dramatic summit in Paris.

European leaders are in chaos over President Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine, amid fears he will withdraw his military support for the continent and abandon the Baltic states to Putin.

Starmer has called for the US to provide a ‘backstop’ for any deal in Ukraine, and European leaders appear to be panicking over the prospect of confronting Putin without American militry might.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz left the crisis summit in Paris between European leaders early last night and a ‘little irritated’ labelling the premier’s calls as ‘highly inappropriate’.

Read Matt Strudwick’s report here

How will Ukraine feature in US-Russia talks?

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Ukraine Presidency/Ukrainian Pre/Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock (15155971n) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, shakes hands with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, right, before their bilateral meeting, February 17, 2025 In Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy Meets with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - 17 Feb 2025

Vladimir Putin’s chief foreign adviser Yuri Ushakov told state media the talks would discuss ‘how to start negotiations on Ukraine.’

Both Ukraine and Russia have ruled out territorial concessions and Putin last year demanded Kyiv withdraw its troops from even more territory.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Turkey today for discussions on the conflict with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He is due in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after travelling to the United Arab Emirates on Monday (pictured).

He does not plan to hold talks with either the US or Russian delegations, his spokesman said.

Zelensky said last week he was prepared to meet Putin, but only after Kyiv and its allies had a common position on ending the war.

Pictures: Marco Rubio and Sergey Lavrov at negotiating table

Here are some pictures of the meeting between U.S. and Russian officials in Riyadh.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading the American delegation, while Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is representing the Kremlin.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, sits next to Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Saudi National Security Advisor Mosaad bin Mohammad Al-Aiban, at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Lavrov, right, sits next to Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov

TOPSHOT - (L to R) US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz attend a meeting with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister and National Security Advisor, and with the Russian president's foreign policy advisor and the Russian Foreign Minister at Riyadh's Diriyah Palace on February 18, 2025. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein / POOL / AFP) (Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

L to R: US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Marco Rubio, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, second left, meets with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Saudi National Security Advisor Mosaad bin Mohammad Al-Aiban, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, third left, U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, left, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, second right, at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday Feb. 18, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

The talks have taken place at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh

Where are the U.S. and Russia meeting in Saudi Arabia?

This handout picture taken and released by the Russian Foreign Ministry on their "X" social media account shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (C) arriving for a meeting with US Secretary of State in Riyad on February 18, 2025. (Photo by Handout / RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / X account of Russian Foreign Ministry " - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Photo by HANDOUT/RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY/AFP via Getty Images)

Diriyah Palace sits across the street from Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter.

It is also just next to the Ritz Carlton hotel, which became well known in 2017 after de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman detained other princes and the country’s elite there as part of what the royal court called a crackdown on corruption, which also sidelined any potential challenge to his taking control of the kingdom.

Hosting the talks is a major step towards a goal Prince Mohammed has pursued throughout the war – putting the kingdom in the middle of diplomatic negotiations.

Ahead of the summit, the Saudi daily newspaper Okaz described the moment as the “world’s eye on Riyadh”.

It has helped in prisoner negotiations and hosted Mr Zelensky for an Arab League summit in the kingdom in 2023.

Mr Zelensky said he would travel to Saudi Arabia tomorrow

Russia insists talks are aimed at reaching ‘normalisation with Washington’

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and Mr Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov arrived in the Saudi capital on Monday.

Mr Ushakov said the talks would be ‘purely bilateral’ and would not include Ukrainian officials.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet the Russian delegation, state department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.

The talks mark a significant expansion of US-Russian contacts, nearly three years into a war that has seen ties fall to the lowest level in decades.

Ahead of the talks, Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, who the Kremlin said might join the meeting, underscored the importance of the meeting in comments to The Associated Press.

Good US-Russia relations are very important for the whole world. Only jointly can Russia and the US address lots of world problems, resolve for global conflicts and offer solutions.

The Saudi-owned satellite channel Al Arabiya, citing the Russian delegation, described Moscow’s priority as ‘real normalisation with Washington’.

U.S. and Russia officials meet to negotiate end of Ukraine war

(L to R) US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, National Security Advisor Mosaad bin Mohammad al-Aiban, the Russian president's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attend a meeting together at Riyadh's Diriyah Palace on February 18, 2025. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein / POOL / AFP) (Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage as U.S. and Russian officials meet to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.

Senior American and Russian officials are holding talks in Saudi Arabia today.

The meeting at the Diriyah Palace in Riyadh marks another pivotal step by the Trump administration to reverse US policy on isolating Russia and is meant to pave the way for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr Trump earlier this month upended US policy towards Ukraine and Russia by saying he and Mr Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the war.

Ukrainian officials are not taking part in the meeting, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that his country will not accept the outcome if Kyiv does not take part.

Stick with us for the latest updates throughout the day.