The US and Russia have agreed to form a high-level team to end the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine. After the talks between Russia and the US in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the US State Department said that they have agreed to hold high-level talks.

The talks between the representatives of the two countries started in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. The talks were led by the foreign ministers of both countries. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Yuri Usakov participated in the talks. Usakov is a foreign policy adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The US team included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Wittkoff. 

Similarly, Prince and Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud and National Security Adviser Musaid bin Mohammed Al-Aiwan participated in the talks. The US said today's talks are the first step in determining whether Russia is serious about ending the war. Russia, on the other hand, seems to be hoping to normalize relations with the US. The Ukrainian side was not included in the

talks. But in a press conference after the talks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that no one was sidelined. "Some positive things can come out of these talks from America, Europe, Ukraine and the whole world," he said, "but first it starts with the end of the conflict." Ruvio said this while targeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's statement that any talks without Ukraine's participation would be invalid. Earlier, Zelensky said that "Ukraine will never accept the agreements made without Ukraine's participation". 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that both countries have agreed to appoint ambassadors in the talks. First, the US will appoint a representative. Then we will appoint," Lavrov told the BBC. "It was a very useful conversation, we listened to each other." Ukrainian President Zelensky has arrived in Turkey's capital, Ankara, while talks are underway in Saudi Arabia. He has met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

Zelensky visited Turkey for the third time since Russia invaded Ukraine. According to the BBC, Zelensky along with his wife Olena Zelenska attended the opening ceremony of the Ukrainian Embassy building. China has expressed hope that all parties will participate in the ongoing talks in Saudi Arabia. The spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that he is "happy with the efforts made for peace" and said that all parties can participate in peace talks at the appropriate time. 

Earlier, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy has been saying that the "Army of Europe" should be built. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference last Saturday, he said that the US Vice President JD Vance's speech indicated that the old relationship between Europe and the US was ending and that Europe needed to understand it in time. During the Munich Security Conference, US and European leaders had sharp differences. At the conference, US Vice President Vance strongly criticized European democracy. He repeated the words of the Trump administration and said that "Europe should take steps to protect itself". Zelensky met with Vance and Rubio on Friday in talks on the sidelines of the conference. 

With the US and Russia negotiating, European leaders united in defense of Ukraine held an emergency summit in Paris, France, on Monday. They say there will be no peace talks without Ukraine or without the involvement of Europe. The leaders of France, Britain, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain and Denmark participated in the conference. 

Why did the talks take place in Saudi Arabia? 

Recently, Saudi Arabia has been increasing its influence and leadership role in the world community. Especially in sports and entertainment, Saudi Arabia has spent huge amounts of money to further its ambitions to become a major player on the world stage. In addition to that, the Saudi leadership is also increasing its role diplomatically. Under former US President Joe Biden's administration, Saudi Arabia moved away from US dependence as its main international ally. In addition, Saudi Arabia has established close relations with America's main rival countries, such as Russia and China, and promoted its interests as the first and foremost issue. 

But with the return of Donald Trump to the American presidency, it is seen that there will be a change in Saudi's US policy. But Saudi's human rights record is still the subject of occasional controversy and criticism in international forums. Yet the Saudis show no sign of reining in their ambitions to become a major player in global diplomacy.

Putin ready to negotiate with Zelensky 

With the start of talks between Russia and US representatives in Saudi Arabia about the Ukraine war, Russia has said that President Vladimir Putin is ready to hold talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky if necessary. 

Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman of the Russian Presidential Office, Kremlin said that if necessary, Putin himself is ready to negotiate with Ukrainian President Zelensky. "But considering the fact that Zelensky's legality may be questioned, it is necessary to discuss the legal basis of the agreements," he said. Russia has started talks with American representatives on Tuesday about ending the war with Ukraine that has been going on for three years. 

Kremlin spokesman Peskov said in a conversation with journalists that the issue of joining the European Union is the decision of Russia-Ukraine and it will not pose any threat to Russia's security. This is the sovereign right of any country. No country can do anything to another country. We did not even intend to do that,” he said. But he says that Russia will not make any agreement regarding security, defense or military alliance.