US and Russia hold significant talks on Ukraine conflict in Riyadh

U.S. and Russian officials held their most significant talks since the Ukraine conflict began, meeting for four hours in Riyadh. The discussions focused on restoring diplomatic relations and exploring a negotiated end to the war, despite Ukraine's exclusion from the talks. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed to establish working groups to address peace negotiations. They also discussed restoring embassy staffing levels, which have been reduced due to previous diplomatic tensions. President Trump suggested Ukraine was to blame for the conflict, indicating they should have made concessions earlier. U.S. officials stated that Ukraine and European nations would not be sidelined in future negotiations, despite their absence from this meeting.