Russia will not accept NATO troops in Ukraine, Lavrov says after talking to us

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his country would not accept peaceful forces from NATO countries in Ukraine in all peace transactions, after high -level talks with the United States in Saudi Arabia.

“Any appearance of the armed forces under some other flag does not change anything. Of course, it is completely unacceptable,” he said.

Russia and the US said they have agreed to appoint teams to start negotiating at the end of the war.

“Today is the first step of a long and difficult trip, but important,” said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the meeting.

Ukraine was not invited to the conversations that his President Volodimir Zelenski said was “surprise”.

The meeting in Riyadh was the first time since the full -scale invasion of Ukraine in Russia, that it is known that Russian and American delegations met face to face.

At a meeting in Saudi Arabia were also the Middle East Middle East in the United States Steve Vikof and US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, as well as Russian presidential assistant Yuri Ushakov and the head of the Russian Wealth Fund, Kiril Dmitriev.

Lavrov then said the US and Russia would appoint ambassadors to each other as soon as possible and create conditions for “recovery of cooperation entirely”.

“It was a very useful conversation. We listened and we heard,” he said.

He reiterated Russia’s previous position that any expansion of the NATO Defense Alliance – and Ukraine, which joined it, would be a “direct threat” to Russia.

In the meantime, Rubio said he was “convinced” Russia is “ready to start participating in a serious process” in order to end the conflict.

“There must be discounts made from all sides. We will not determine what these are.”

European leaders held a quick -settled meeting in Paris on Monday to discuss their response to the obvious rapprochement between Russia and the United States with President Trump – but they did not agree with a unified position.

The United Kingdom Prime Minister Sir Kiir Starmer said any deal with Ukraine will require a “American background” to deter Russia to attack his neighbor again and say he will consider the united UK troops in Ukraine.

But German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a key ally of NATO, said in turn, discussing the sending of troops to Ukraine was currently “completely premature”.

In Riyadh, Rubio said the European Union would “should be on the table at a time, as they also have sanctions that are imposed.”

After the absence of Ukraine at the meeting, he insisted that “no one is side.”

“Everyone involved in this conflict must be fine with it should be acceptable,” he added.

Ukrainian leader Volodimir Zelenski looked visibly tired and upset when he reacted to the meeting during a press conference in Turkey.

“We want everything to be fair and so that no one decides anything behind us,” he said.

“You can’t make decisions without Ukraine how to end the war in Ukraine.”

He will be alarmed by all smiles in both American and Russian faces in Riyadh, but he will know that he can do a little to change any agreement over his head.

The Ukrainian president will also know that his country’s chances of resisting – let alone win – Russian troops without US help are very small.