Top Russian and US officials meet in Saudi Arabia for Ukraine war talks without Kyiv

Russia and the U.S. have agreed to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties. That came after talks between the top diplomats from Russia and the U.S. They reflected an extraordinary about-face in U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump. In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the two sides agreed broadly to pursue three goals: to restore staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow, to create a high-level team to support Ukraine peace talks, and to explore closer relations and economic cooperation. He stressed that the talks marked the beginning of a conversation, and more work needs to be done down the road.