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2025-02-20 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
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Kurt Volker's guide to US-Russia Ukraine peace talks in Saudi Arabia
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A taste: [KyivIndependent] After years of political isolation sparked by the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, U.S. and Russian officials will meet in Saudi Arabia this week to discuss how to bring an end to the war.
Neither Ukraine nor Europe has been invited to the main discussion, setting off alarm bells in Kyiv and capitals across the continent that U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin could reach an agreement without Ukraine and Europe’s involvement, and one that puts their future security in jeopardy.
Announcing that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov would lead their delegation, the Kremlin set an ambitious agenda for the talks.
"They are expected to hold a meeting with their American counterparts on Tuesday, which will focus primarily on restoring the entire complex of Russian-American relations," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Feb. 17.
The U.S. delegation will be led by State Secretary Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
Though the U.S. and Russia will meet without Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky will also head to Saudi Arabia this week. NBC reported that the intention is for the U.S. to host a bilateral meeting with Russia, followed by a bilateral meeting with Ukraine, and culminating with talks together.
Meanwhile, such is the sense of urgency in Europe over the course of events: European leaders are gathering in Paris on Feb. 17 for an emergency summit.
So what should we expect from the historic meeting in Saudi Arabia and is the direction of peace negotiations as alarming as many believe?
The Kyiv Independent asked co-chair of the BGR Group advisory board, Ambassador Kurt Volker, who served as the U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations in 2017-2019, and U.S. ambassador to NATO in 2008-2009, for his thoughts.
The Kyiv Independent: There has been a lot of panic in Ukraine and Europe about the possibility of the U.S. and Russia negotiating a peace agreement over their heads — is this justified?
Ambassador Kurt Volker: People were upset about (being excluded from the table) and I have to keep telling people there isn't a table.
There is (U.S.) President Trump picking up the phone, calling Putin, calling Zelensky, people having meetings at NATO, people having meetings in Munich. It's going to be like that. It's going to be a lot of consultation, a lot of conversations, but there's no single negotiation going on. 
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Posted by trailing wife 2025-02-20 2025-02-20 03:28||
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