Top Russian, US officials meet in Saudi Arabia to begin talks on Ukraine war without officials from Kyiv

Senior Russian and U.S. officials met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss improving relations and an end to Moscow's war in Ukraine – without representatives from Kyiv.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov led the delegations that met at the Diriyah Palace in Saudi Arabia's capital of Riyadh.

Rubio was accompanied by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, while Lavrov brought along the Kremlin's foreign affairs advisor, Yuri Ushakov. 

Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and national security advisor Musaed al Alban were present for the start of the meeting but were expected to leave early in the talks.

Ukrainian officials are not participating in Tuesday's meeting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that Kyiv will not accept the outcome if his country is not in attendance at the meeting.

The meeting symbolizes another significant step by the Trump administration to reverse U.S. policy on isolating Russia. The event was meant to lead to a meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Last week, Trump upended U.S. policy toward Ukraine and Russia, stating that he and Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the war, which began in February 2022.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.