section_path: History/Second Trump administration (2025–present)/Talks on the Russo-Ukrainian War and normalizing relations
section_name: Talks on the Russo-Ukrainian War and normalizing relations
paragraph_text: Talks on the Russo-Ukrainian War and normalizing relations
  
  Donald Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin by telephone on February 12, 2025, in what was their first known contact since Trump had been inaugurated for his second term as U.S. president. They discussed a range of topics, including opening negotiations to end the war and arranging a summit meeting. Trump announced afterwards that peace talks would begin "immediately" and that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will lead the negotiations. Trump also announced that he could meet with Putin in Saudi Arabia, and that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman could have a role in the talks, but no decision had been made at that time.
  
  On February 15, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke to Marco Rubio by telephone about a number of topics, including the Russo-Ukrainian War, arranging a high-level meeting in Saudi Arabia, and potential cooperation on the situation in the Middle East. The conversation, which was the first contact between Russia and the U.S. at the foreign minister level in almost two years, was also seen as a sign that the two countries were restoring regular contact between their governments.
  
  Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said on February 17 that the Riyadh talks will be about "restoring the entire range of U.S.-Russian relations, as well as preparing possible talks on the Ukrainian settlement and organizing a meeting of the two presidents." Tammy Bruce, the U.S. State Department Spokesperson, stated on the same day that the talks were to see if a potential war settlement was possible, in which case more detailed negotiations could move forward. Sergey Lavrov ruled out the participation of the European Union countries. He also said, speaking of the earlier phone call between Putin and Trump, that the two presidents "agreed to leave behind that absolutely abnormal period in relations between our great powers when they effectively halted any contacts except for some technical and humanitarian issues." Shortly before the talks, Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, met with the U.S. delegation to discuss the economic relationship between their countries.
  
  The Riyadh meeting was held on February 18, with Rubio, Waltz, and Witkoff on the American side, and Lavrov and Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov on the Russian side. Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and National Security Adviser Musaad bin Mohammed Al Aiban were also there. The delegations agreed to begin the negotiation process for ending the war in Ukraine (though the Ukrainians were not invited to the talks), to establish a high-level mechanism for contact between the U.S. and Russian governments, and to work to eventually normalize their economic and diplomatic ties. This will include restoring the staff of both of their embassies to normal levels, after the expulsions of diplomats in previous years. Lavrov said after the talks: "We weren't just listening to each other, but we heard each other. I have reason to believe that the American side started to better understand our positions."
  
  Yuri Ushakov, the Russian presidential advisor on foreign policy, said after the Riyadh meeting that preparations for a Trump-Putin summit have begun, though no date had been decided yet. According to Kirill Dmitriev, they also discussed the possibility of restoring joint energy exploration projects in the Arctic, where ExxonMobil previously had a partnership with Rosneft before leaving due to economic sanctions in 2018. The U.S.-Russia talks in Riyadh, their most extensive negotiation in three years, have been described as representing an "extraordinary turnaround" and a "head-spinning reset" in the relations between the two countries. Speaking at a press conference on the same day, Trump said that he will "probably" meet Putin later in February. Rubio said a potential meeting between Trump and Putin would "largely depend on whether we can make progress on ending the war in Ukraine."
  
  Trump said on February 21 that Russia attacked Ukraine, but blamed Biden for failing to prevent it and Zelensky for abandoning peace talks. He also said that Zelenskyy and Putin should negotiate an end to the war to prevent further killings of young soldiers and the deaths of "millions" of people.
  
  On February 24, the US voted against a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Alongside this resolution, the US introduced a separate resolution in the General Assembly which was worded in neutral terms. However, this resolution was significantly changed after several amendments, and Russia voted against it. The US later re-introduced that resolution in the Security Council, which ultimately approved it.
  
  On February 27, Trump extended a series of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine for one year.
  
  On March 4, the media reported that the United States had suspended all military aid to Ukraine. Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe confirmed this, along with the suspension of intelligence sharing with Ukraine. Aid and intelligence sharing was resumed on March 11 following talks with Ukrainian officials in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
  
  In June 2025, a majority of U.S. senators supported secondary sanctions against Russia that would impose 500% tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, natural gas, uranium and other exports. Majority Leader John Thune said senators "stand ready to provide President Trump with any tools he needs to get Russia to finally come to the table in a real way."
  
  In June 2025, Trump rejected Putin's offer to mediate a ceasefire in the Iran–Israel war, telling him to focus on mediating a ceasefire in the Russo-Ukrainian War.