US and Russia hold bilateral talks in Saudi Arabia

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00:00As Russian diplomats touched down in Riyadh, they confirmed that talks with Trump's delegation

00:04would not involve any other parties.

00:07The meeting hopes to improve ties between Russia and the U.S., as well as bring an end

00:11to the war in Ukraine.

00:12We came to hold talks with American colleagues.

00:17All these bilateral talks, they are purely bilateral talks.

00:21There cannot be other talks in Riyadh.

00:24The talks come in the wake of a telephone call last Wednesday between U.S. President

00:28Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

00:31The two leaders agreed to end the war in Ukraine, while seemingly leaving Europe out of the

00:36equation, a move defended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

00:41I don't know why they should be at the negotiating table.

00:44If they're going to come up with some cunning ideas about freezing the conflict, while actually

00:49intending, as is their custom and nature, to continue the war, then why should we invite

00:54them at all?

00:56Marco Rubio arrived earlier that same day and was welcomed by the Saudi Crown Prince

01:01in Riyadh.

01:02Saudi Arabia is the Secretary of State's second stop on his maiden tour of the Middle East

01:06after Israel.

01:09Also not invited to this meeting is Ukraine, despite the fact that its president is in

01:14the region, visiting the United Arab Emirates and Turkey on his latest diplomatic tour.

01:20Vladimir Zelensky said he didn't know anything about the talks and stressed that Ukraine

01:24cannot recognise any US-Russian agreement reached without it.

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