Trump administration launches talks with Russia on Ukraine war

The Trump administration launched talks with Russia on Tuesday over the war in Ukraine, a turning point in Washington’s handling of Europe’s most destructive conflict in decades and a sign of the U.S. president’s willingness to sideline allies in his determination to impose a swift peace.

The talks marked a departure from an earlier U.S. insistence that Ukraine must lead any negotiations. The meeting also is part of an approach that appears likely to deliver an agreement unfavorable to Kyiv.

Rubio was joined at a cavernous Saudi palace by national security adviser Michael Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, and national security adviser, Musaad al-Aiban, joined the U.S. and Russian officials at a sprawling table to open the meeting but were expected to depart when the talks began in earnest.

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