'We agreed to consider each other's interests' — Russian negotiator Ushakov on talks in Saudi Arabia

Editor’s note: This story is being updated.

A member of Russia’s delegation that met with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18 to discuss ending the war in Ukraine has said the talks were “not bad,” but it was “hard to say” if the two sides' interests were converging.

Speaking to the pro-Kremlin Channel One Russia, Yuri Ushakov, an advisor to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, said it was a “very serious discussion of all the issues we wanted to touch upon."

“We have agreed to take account of each other’s interests and develop bilateral relations, since both Moscow and Washington are interested in this,” he added.

Ushakov also said a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin were discussed, but it was unlikely to take place next week as had been previously speculated.

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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
'We agreed to consider each other's interests' — Russian negotiator Ushakov on talks in Saudi ArabiaThe Kyiv IndependentChris York
'We agreed to consider each other's interests' — Russian negotiator Ushakov on talks in Saudi Arabia