Trump Admin and Kremlin Officials Meet to Discuss Ukraine, US-Russia Relations

Top diplomats from the U.S. and Russia – including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov – met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss improving relations and reaching a resolution in Ukraine.

The Details: Notably absent from the discussion were Ukrainian and European Union representatives, which was noted by outlets across the spectrum. Associated Press (Left bias) noted that the meeting “was meant to pave the way for a meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.”

For Context: The meeting is the first in-person between U.S. and Russian officials since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Last week, Trump and Putin spoke for 90 minutes via phone, where the two discussed Ukraine and other matters of interest. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the talks will “yield no results” because Ukraine is not included in them. On Monday, France called an emergency meeting for the United Kingdom and European leaders to discuss Ukraine policy.

How The Media Covered It: Euronews (Center) framed the meeting by saying it comes as Trump “upended years of foreign policy towards Russia” by calling Putin last week. Fox News (Right) wrote, “The meeting symbolizes another significant step by the Trump administration to reverse U.S. policy on isolating Russia.” Associated Press noted that Russia reportedly hit Ukraine with 176 drones overnight Monday. The New York Times (Lean Left) highlighted that the talks went beyond Ukraine and involved business matters as well.