[Politics & Diplomacy] U.S.-Russia talks begin in Riyadh with Ukraine, Europe sidelined

Talks started in Saudi Arabia to discuss ending the war in Ukraine involving U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

For more on this, we have our Kim Bo-kyoung in the studio.

Bo-kyoung, first of all, what could be on Trump and Putin's minds?

Well, Jung-min, it seems Trump and Putin have agreed on some things during their phone talks.

Conceding some Ukrainian territory, and Kyiv not being part of NATO.

The fact that Trump agreed to what U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, that a return to Ukraine's old borders is an "illusory goal, " and how its NATO membership was unrealistic, shows this.

Given that Russia is making grinding progress on the battlefield, Moscow could be calculating whether it is better to strike a peace deal, giving Trump a huge win, or to continue the fight.

And, to raise the chances of the peace deal, Trump has already demanded Russia be readmitted to the Group of Eight industrialized nations.

One expert says this could have been a big incentive for Putin, to come to the negotiating table.

Let's take a look.

"I'd love to have them back. I think it was a mistake to throw them out. I think Putin would love to be back."

"The most important thing is that Donald Trump promised Vladimir Putin to get Russia back as a member of the international community, showing his desire to restore economic relations with Russia. This implies that most of the sanctions would be lifted in the near future. Guaranteeing economic activities again, I think that served as a significant incentive for Putin."

Ukraine is not a party to this meeting in Riyadh.

How is Ukraine reacting to this, and what could be the most concerning part for Ukraine?

Despite U.S. officials suggesting that Ukraine and Europe would have a role in any peace talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday dismissed Tuesday's negotiations taking place without him, and told reporters that he "did not know anything about them."

And, in response to recent U.S. statements about ruling out Ukraine's NATO membership, Zelenskyy cautioned the West against repeating past mistakes, warning that it could lead to a scenario similar to Afghanistan in 2021 where the Western troops hastily withdrew from Afghanistan, leading to the Taliban quickly seizing Kabul and taking power.

The expert says Ukraine knew it could be difficult to be a member of NATO, and to restore all territory taken by Moscow.

What matters for Kyiv is strong security guarantees.

"If Ukraine does not join NATO, the key question is what kind of security guarantees the international community can offer. The fact that such discussions are not taking place at the same time as the peace talks is what is making Zelenskyy uneasy. The most crucial issue for Ukraine is whether a strong security guarantee system can be established as an alternative to NATO."

Europe too, has been sidelined from the peace talks.

What's been the response from European leaders?

Europe is trying to raise its voice, holding emergency talks in Paris on Monday.

As it is quite clear that the U.S. is set on diminishing its footprint in Europe, the leaders' meeting reportedly focused on the potential deployment of European troops to Ukraine and the willingness of European allies to step up defense spending.

The expert says European countries will eventually have to take more responsibility for the security of Ukraine for their own sake.

Listen to this.

"All Europeans have to step up when it comes to Ukraine, and at the same time step up when it comes to defense spending at home. Because Russia is threatening all of Europe now, unfortunately."

"Trump does not consider NATO of high value, and believes that Europe should take responsibility for its own security. so it seems clear that NATO allies will have to take on a greater role."

Alright, thank you Bo-kyoung for sharing this with us. We appreciate it.

Thank you.