Russia and the United States will name teams to negotiate a path to ending the war in Ukraine, the powers decided on Tuesday in discussions that drew a rebuke from Kyiv over its exclusion.
Washington noted European nations would have to have a seat at the negotiating table "at some point", after the first high-level official Washington-Moscow talks since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed to "appoint respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible", the State Department said.
Washington added the sides had also agreed to "establish a consultation mechanism" to address "irritants" to Russia and America's relationship, noting the sides would lay the groundwork for future cooperation.
Yuri Ushakov, President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy aide, confirmed the negotiating teams' appointment but said it was "difficult" to discuss a date for a potential Trump-Putin meeting.
"We did not just listen but heard each other, and I have reason to believe the American side has better understood our position," Lavrov told reporters.
The veteran diplomat noted Russia opposed any deployment of NATO-nation troops to Ukraine as part of an eventual ceasefire.
"A lasting and long-term viable resolution is impossible without a comprehensive consideration of security issues on the continent," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday, responding to a question by AFP.
"There are other parties that have sanctions (on Russia), the European Union is going to have to be at the table at some point because they have sanctions as well," said Rubio.
At the Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, negotiations began without visible handshakes.
Both Russia and the US have cast Tuesday's meeting as the beginning of a potentially lengthy process and downplayed the prospects of a breakthrough.
Russia's Ushakov told state media the talks would discuss "how to start negotiations on Ukraine".
The Kremlin said Tuesday that Ukraine had the "right" to join the European Union, but not the NATO military alliance.
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