US-Russia pact to end the war in Ukraine. Without Ukraine, with Zelensky who does not agree.
The talks in Riyadh have brought a reset of sorts in US-Russia talks, the first since the invasion began after years of frost.
Just read the conditions agreed - according to the US State Department - by the two delegations, both satisfied with the outcome: "Appoint the respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to end the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible in a way that is durable, sustainable and acceptable to all parties", but also "normalize" diplomatic relations and "lay the foundations for future cooperation between the two countries on issues of mutual geopolitical interest and on historic economic and investment opportunities" after the end of the war. So "peace" in Ukraine but also business between Washington and Moscow and understanding on the balance of power in the world.
A summit criticized by Volodymyr Zelensky, who complained about the exclusion of Kiev and asked for "fair talks" also with the EU, the United Kingdom and Turkey during the meeting in Ankara with Recep Tayyip Erdogan before postponing the visit to Riyadh to March 10 to avoid suspicious coincidences.
“All sides must make concessions,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after what he called a “pre-negotiation,” four and a half hours of face-to-face time in one of the palaces of the Saudi royal family, Diriyah, in the Albasatin compound. To the right of the Arab mediators — Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Saudi National Security Advisor Mosaad bin Mohammad Al-Aiban — Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff. To the left, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kremlin diplomatic advisor Yuri Ushakov. Also present, but at other meetings on the sidelines, was Kirill Dmitriev, the oligarch informal advisor to the Kremlin who studied in the US, a past at Goldman Sachs and McKinsey and now CEO of the Russian sovereign investment fund. Excluded, at least for now, are Zelensky and the old continent, although Rubio assured that "Europe will also have to sit at the negotiating table", if only because "it has imposed sanctions on Moscow".
Shortly after the meeting, the head of US diplomacy had a telephone conference for an initial discussion with the Quint foreign ministers: Antonio Tajani and his colleagues from France, Germany and the United Kingdom, plus the EU representative Kaja Kallas. The Kremlin, for its part, reiterated that Vladimir Putin is ready to negotiate with Zelensky "if necessary", but raised the issue of his legitimacy, given that he remained in office after the expiry of his term in May 2024 thanks to martial law. So much so that one of the fixed points of the various alleged peace plans leaked so far evokes new elections in Ukraine.
For now, Moscow seems to be dictating the conditions. Before the meeting in Riyadh, the Kremlin had made it clear that a "long-term solution" to the conflict is "impossible without a comprehensive examination of the security issues on the continent" of Europe. The reference, in particular, is to NATO's expansion towards the east and the commitment made in 2008 to let Ukraine and Georgia join, although without setting a date. The day before, Lavrov had ruled out any territorial concession, while today he insisted that for Moscow the deployment of NATO forces in Ukraine in peacekeeping operations is "unacceptable".
After the summit, the head of Russian diplomacy reported that the Americans have begun to "better understand" Moscow's position and that Russians and Americans have not only "listened" to each other, but also "understood" each other. Instead, Zelensky was scolded, who should be made to "think and receive a slap on the wrist". The Kremlin's only concession was the possibility of Kiev joining the EU: "This is a sovereign right of any country. We are talking about economic integration processes. Here, of course, no one can dictate anything to another country, and we will not do that", assured spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
(Online Union)
