U.S. and Russia Meet for Peace Talks Without Ukraine
Negotiations about ending the Russo-Ukrainian War began between top United States and Russian diplomats in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the Russian president’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov.
The discussions are the first in-person meeting between officials from the two countries since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2021.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the delegates would speak about “restoring the entire complex of U.S.-Russian relations, as well as preparing possible talks on the Ukrainian settlement and organizing a meeting of the two presidents.”
Not invited: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was not made aware of the negotiations and that no Ukrainian officials were invited to the talks.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine would not accept any peace agreements it was not involved in: “We cannot recognize … any agreements about us without us.”
The situation: Zelenskyy has pushed for a peace deal to include a full withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine, including from Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Last week, he said he was willing to negotiate a land exchange with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said it was “unrealistic” for Ukraine to expect to restore its 2014 borders. “Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,” he told a meeting of Ukrainian officials.
Hegseth also said Ukraine would not be granted nato membership and should accept the security guarantee of being “backed by capable European and non-European troops.” He added that “there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine.”
Trump and Putin: Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has warned about President Trump’s friendly relationship with Putin. President Trump said in 2015 that Putin was someone he could “get along very well with.” Yet as Mr. Flurry explains in The Prophesied ‘Prince of Russia,’ Bible prophecy says Putin will commit terrible atrocities in the near future.
In 2023, Mr. Flurry warned:
Mr. Trump believes he could negotiate with Vladimir Putin, giving him sections of Ukraine and expecting this to pacify him. That reveals a total lack of comprehension about who he is dealing with.
Learn more: Request a free copy of The Prophesied ‘Prince of Russia.’
