Russia shows no sign of conceding any groundpublished at 07:55 Greenwich Mean Time 19 February

07:55 GMT 19 February

Sarah Rainsford
Eastern Europe correspondent

After more than four hours of talks in Riyadh, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio emerged to the press and announced the first steps towards negotiations had been agreed, with teams to be formed on both sides.

He'd concluded that Russia was ready to engage in a "serious process" to end the war. But why was he so sure?

Across the table was Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, still under sanctions for what the US Treasury called Russia's "brutal war of choice".

When Lavrov met the Russian media, he told them the US had proposed a moratorium on attacking energy infrastructure.

"We explained that we have never endangered the civilian energy supply and only target what directly serves Ukraine's military," was the minister's reply.

That's not true. I have personally walked through the ruins of civilian power plants that have been directly targeted by Russian missiles.

This is the country that the US is attempting to engage with, although there is ample evidence that it can't be trusted.

Russia has also shown zero sign of conceding any ground. Why would it, when the Trump administration has already agreed that Ukraine will never join Nato, as Moscow demands, and won't get its occupied land back?

That's why, for Ukraine's allies, it won't only be the image of US and Russian officials seated at the shiny Saudi table that jarred. It's also how they talked.

Read Sarah Rainsford's full analysis

Speaking after a meeting of US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump told the BBC he believes he has the power to end the war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was a "surprise" his country had not been invited to the talks.

Hear what Trump had to say about the talks below:

Image source, @truonline

Away from the US-Russia talks in Riyadh, many residents of Ukraine's southern city of Odesa have been left without heating, electricity and water supply following a "massive" Russian attack late on Tuesday, the mayor says.

Hennady Trukhanov says "14 schools, 13 kindergartens... and more than 500 houses" are affected.

He adds that one children's clinic and a kindergarten were "significantly damaged".

City officials are now setting up tents and what the mayor describes as "heating points", where people can warm up, drink hot tea and charge their gadgets.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage as the world reacts to Tuesday's landmark US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia - the most significant meeting between the two sides since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost three years ago.

After the talks, Donald Trump said Ukraine "could have made a deal" earlier to end the war, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was a "surprise" his country had not been invited to the talks in Riyadh.

The US president also said he was much more confident a deal could be reached, adding: "I think I have the power to end this war".

Meanwhile, Zelensky postponed his visit to Saudi Arabia this week until 10 March - a decision linked to the US-Russia talks. Kyiv has repeatedly said it won't recognise any agreement about Ukraine made without it.

In Riyadh, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that Moscow would not accept Nato troops in Ukraine as part of any peace deal.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the talks were the "first step of a long and difficult journey" to ending the war.

We'll be bringing you the latest developments on this fast-moving story throughout today, so stay with us.

Imogen James
Live reporter

Along Ukraine's frontline, the war rages on. But global attention spanned thousands of miles away today, as representatives from Russia and the US met in Saudi Arabia to discuss an end to the conflict.

Uninvited to those talks, and in Turkey instead, was Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He made it known he won't accept a deal made about Ukraine without Ukraine's involvement, and that he wouldn't recognise parts of Ukraine occupied by Russia.

Speaking after the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the talks "useful", but said any type of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine would be "completely unacceptable".

Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, told reporters he's "convinced" that Russia is willing to engage in a serious process of ending the war. Referencing criticisms from Ukraine's European allies, who also missed an invite, he said nobody was "sidelined" from the meeting.

Up next, the countries said they would appoint teams to negotiate ending the Ukraine war. But they said they are no closer to arranging a meeting between Trump and Putin.

Looking downcast, Zelensky told reported in Turkey that he had postponed his visit to Saudi Arabia this week until mid-March, after the results from today's talks came to light.

Our live coverage is stopping here, but there's more to be read elsewhere:

• There's a report on today's events, as the US and Russia agree to appoint teams to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war
• The UK's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer weighed in, stating a US security guarantee is necessary to deter Russia from future attacks on Ukraine
• And he's not the only European leader to react, we've compiled the reactions from European leaders
• If podcasts are your thing, the latest Ukrainecast delves into the proposition of European troops in Ukraine

The Global Story

Our colleagues at The Global Story podcast are discussing the relationship between the EU and US in their latest episode.

With the Trump administration threatening to redirect America's foreign defence spending from Ukraine and Europe to other parts of the world, European leaders are grappling with what the future of their security could be without US support.

On today's episode of The Global Story, the BBC's diplomatic correspondent James Landale discusses with Jonny Dymond what Europe could do if the United States were to withdraw its money and manpower from the continent.

• Listen to how Europe might defend itself without the United States

Russia is opposed to meaningful security guarantees for Ukrainepublished at 16:24 Greenwich Mean Time 18 February

16:24 GMT 18 February

Vitaliy Shevchenko
BBC Monitoring's Russia editor

As European nations scramble for ideas on how to bolster Ukraine's security, one idea - suggested by the UK and Sweden, for example - is the deployment of foreign troops to guarantee that a possible peace deal holds.

But - as we reported earlier - this idea was rejected by Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

Speaking after talks in Riyadh, he said: "The deployment of troops from the same Nato countries, but under a different flag - EU or their national flags - changes nothing. Of course, this is unacceptable for us."

In practical terms, this translates into Russian opposition to any meaningful security guarantees for Ukraine against any possible future attacks.

Adam Easton
Warsaw correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Polish president Andrzej Duda says the US does not plan to reduce American troops on Nato’s eastern flank.

“There is absolutely no American intention whatsoever to reduce activity here in our part of Europe, especially in terms of security, to reduce the number of American troops,” Duda says after meeting with Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg in Warsaw.

Duda says he hoped earlier plans to create a permanent US military base in Poland, which he had dubbed 'Fort Trump’ during Trump’s first term in office, could still be realized.

“Here we even talked about the fact that I hope that Fort Trump, which we talked about during President Donald Trump’s first term, will really come into being and that there will be such a very strongly entrenched American military presence in our country,” he says.

About 10,000 US troops are currently stationed in Poland on continual rotation.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has explained some of the initial steps agreed to in today's talks between the US and Russia aimed at opening dialogue to bring an end to the Ukraine war.

Among them, he says, is a goal to re-establish diplomatic missions in Washington DC and Moscow, and to appoint negotiation teams to discuss an end to the conflict.

Have a listen to what else he said below:

Zelensky looked annoyed - it's clear whypublished at 15:50 Greenwich Mean Time 18 February

15:50 GMT 18 February

Vitaliy Shevchenko
BBC Monitoring's Russia editor

Image source, Reuters

Volodymyr Zelensky looked visibly tired and upset during his news conference in Turkey, and it's clear why.

His country's survival, and his own future, hang in the balance as Ukraine's biggest donor sits down for talks in Saudi Arabia with the attacker - and he is not invited.

He will be alarmed by all the smiles on both American and Russian faces in Riyadh, but he will know that he can do little to change whatever they agree on over his head.

The Ukrainian president will also know that his country's chances of resisting - let alone defeating - Russian troops without American help are very slim.

This is exactly the image that Russia wantspublished at 15:26 Greenwich Mean Time 18 February

15:26 GMT 18 February

Sarah Rainsford
Eastern Europe correspondent

Image source, EPA

The sight of senior Russian and American officials back around a giant wooden table is extraordinary in the current context and will be very hard for many, most of all Ukrainians, to digest.

But it’s exactly the image Moscow wants: Russia at the "top table" of global diplomacy, looking like it’s equal to the US and even able to call the shots.

Because this is not a defeated Russia, forced to the negotiating table: it’s more like the United States inviting the aggressor to set out its terms.

One of those Russian officials, long-serving foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, is even under US sanctions for his part in a "brutal war of choice", which he fully supports.

The US says this is about feeling Moscow out – seeing whether it’s even serious about ending its invasion.

But Russia will project this moment - that image around the shiny Saudi table – as proof that the war on Ukraine, and Russia’s subsequent isolation, were just a blip and it will soon be back to business as before.

Image source, EPA

While the US and Russia were talking in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine's President Zelensky was in Turkey with President Erdogan.

• Zelensky said Ukraine must be involved in any peace talks: "Ukraine, Europe in a broad sense - and this includes the European Union, Turkey, and the UK - should be involved in conversations and the development of the necessary security guarantees with America"
• "We want everything to be fair and so that nobody decides anything behind our back... We were not invited to that Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia. It was a surprise to us the same as to many other people. We learnt about it from the media"
• On Ukraine's territory, he said: "No matter how difficult it is for us, Ukraine will not legally recognise the parts occupied by Russia. The east is ours, Crimea is ours and all the other towns and villages that are important for us"
• "We know that the US and several European partners do not support our Nato membership. I think it's a big desire on Russia's part, and it coincides with this result"
• He also said he had postponed a visit to Saudi Arabia - due this week - until 10 March

Image source, EPA

After Marco Rubio spoke to reporters, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, did the same:

• Lavrov called today's talks "a very useful conversation" - "I have reasons to believe that the American party now has a better understanding of our position"
• On ambassadors, the US will appoint its representative, then we'll appoint ours, Lavrov said

• Lavrov reiterated Russia's previous comments that any expansion of Nato and the admission of Ukraine would be a "direct threat" to Russia
• On possible peacekeeping forces in Ukraine - whether from Nato or "under the flag of the EU" - he said "any appearance by armed forces under some other flag does not change anything. It is of course completely unacceptable"
• Lavrov did not comment on Ukraine's involvement in future talks - Ukraine has said it won't accept a peace deal without its participation

Image source, Reuters

Here are the key lines from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's news conference in Riyadh earlier this afternoon - he was speaking alongside Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.

• The "goal of today's meeting" was to follow-up on the phone call US President Donald Trump had with Russia's President Vladimir Putin last week and "establish those lines of communication"
• Rubio is "convinced" that Russia was "willing to begin to engage in a serious process" to end the war in Ukraine

• He said the US and Russia would restore ambassadors to each other's countries: "We're going to need to have vibrant diplomatic missions that are able to function normally in order to be able to continue these conduits"

• On the absence of Ukraine at the meeting, he said "no one is being sidelined". The US will involve Ukraine and the EU in the talks and "everyone involved in that conflict has to be OK with it, it has to be acceptable to them"

• On sanctions against Russia, "concessions" have to be made by "all sides" to bring an end to "any conflict". The EU is "going to have to be at the table at some point because they have sanctions as well that have been imposed"

• He said today’s meeting was "the first step of a long and difficult journey" to ending the war in Ukraine

It's been a busy afternoon of diplomacy, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaking in Saudi Arabia, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaking in Turkey.

We'll have round-ups of the key lines from each next.

Sitting alongside Ukraine's President Zelensky, Turkey's President Erdogan has offered to host possible future peace talks in Turkey between Russia, Ukraine and the US.

Laying out Turkey's position on the terms for peace, Erdogan tells the news conference that Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty are "indisputable".

As a reminder - no Ukrainian officials were invited to the talks between the US and Russia in Saudi Arabia today.

Image source, AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is delivering a news conference alongside Turkey's President Recep Erdogan now.

He says today the pair discussed the global processes in great detail "that could lead to the end of this war".

They looked at different prospects, he adds, and says it's "fundamentally important that any talk to the end of the war does not happen to the backs of the parties involved".

For lasting peace, he says "it is important not to make any mistakes".

The table of negotiations must represent all parties - America, Europe and Ukraine, he says.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is criticising the meeting in Riyadh between US and Russian delegates as talks about Ukraine "without Ukraine".

As a reminder, no Ukrainian officials were invited to the talks.

He's speaking at a news conference in the Turkish capital, Ankara.

We'll bring you more from him imminently.

Right before Sergei Lavrov spoke to reporters, we were reporting some of the comments made by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which we will bring more of to you now.

Asked about sanctions on Russia, Rubio told reporters that the sanctions are due the conflict in Ukraine, adding that "concessions" have to be made by "all sides" to bring an end to "any conflict".

"We’re not going to pre-determine what those are, we’re certainly not going to negotiate this today or in a press conference in that matter," he says.

The US secretary of state says that "other parties have sanctions", adding that the EU is "going to have to be at the table at some point because they have sanctions as well that have been imposed".

"The goal is to bring an end to this conflict in a way that is fair, enduring, sustainable, and acceptable to all parties involved," he says.

"What that looks like? That’s what this ongoing engagement is going to be about."

As a reminder: Many Western countries, including the US, UK and those in the European Union (EU) imposed sanctions on Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Lavrov is next asked about Zelensky's repeated claims that he won't accept a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine without Ukraine's involvement.

Lavrov responds by saying he does not need to go into detail because this topic was covered by Putin in a recent interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin.

The Kremlin has since said that Putin is prepared to speak to Zelensky "if necessary".

Lavrov then ends the news conference reflecting that today's talks were "not unsuccessful".