Russian and U.S. officials are preparing to hold a high-level meeting this week to discuss strained diplomatic relations, as tensions stemming from the war in Ukraine continue to impact global stability, a senior Russian diplomat said Sunday.
The conflict in Ukraine has driven U.S.-Russia relations to their lowest point since the Cold War. With Russian forces making territorial advances over the past year, U.S. President Donald Trump has reiterated his intention to broker a peace deal if re-elected, arguing the war has caused significant loss of life.
Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on February 12 about improving bilateral relations and ending the war, while U.S. and Russian representatives met in Riyadh on February 18 for preliminary discussions.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s lead negotiator on U.S. relations, confirmed that departmental-level meetings are scheduled to take place by the end of the week.
“We are open to contacts with the American side, particularly on resolving bilateral disputes,” Ryabkov told Russian state news agency TASS. “We are awaiting tangible progress at the upcoming meeting.”
Trump has repeatedly expressed confidence that both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are open to reaching a deal. On February 12, Trump said Ukraine’s bid for NATO membership was impractical, echoing statements from U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who asserted that Ukraine would not realistically reclaim its pre-2014 borders.
As the war enters its fourth year, Russia controls nearly 20% of Ukraine, an area comparable to the U.S. state of Ohio. This includes Crimea, annexed in 2014, along with roughly 75% of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, and nearly all of Luhansk.
Moscow maintains that these territories are now legally part of Russia and under its nuclear umbrella, a stance rejected by Ukraine and its Western allies.
In June 2023, Putin outlined his conditions for ending the war, demanding Ukraine formally abandon its NATO ambitions and withdraw from Russian-occupied regions. Ukraine and its European allies have firmly opposed these terms, vowing not to recognize Russian territorial claims.
