Lavrov says that the two sides “practically agreed” that they need to resolve issues concerning the functioning of diplomatic missions.

On Ukraine, he says there is “a mutual desire” to find solutions, and Russia will wait for the US to appoint its representatives.

“After that, relevant consultations will begin and will be regular,” he says.

Lavrov also says the two sides agreed to start “as soon as possible” the process for Ukraine peace talks, and Russia will be waiting for the US to confirm its representatives for the talks and then appoint their own.

Repeating the three points made by Rubio and Waltz earlier, he then talks about “creating conditions” for broader US-Russia cooperation, including on “resuming consultations on geopolitical issues,” and “removing the artificial barriers in the way of mutually beneficial economic cooperation.”

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov says the talks were “very useful,” as the sides “did not just listen to each other, but heard each other.”

“I have every reason to believe that the American side understands our position,” he says.

He says the two sides agreed to ensure “the speediest possible” appointment of ambassadors to both countries and the removal of barriers that “for many years, and primarily the Biden administration in the last four years, erected between our diplomatic missions.”

US state secretary Marco Rubio says that part of the focus is on “ensuring that our diplomatic missions can function” and lead “vibrant diplomatic” relations.

He then the second element is to conduct peace talks on Ukraine, which he says will include “engagement and consultation” with Ukraine and “partners in Europe,” he says.

But he says that ultimately, at the third step, the US wants to move to “engage in identifying the extraordinary opportunities that exist should this conflict come to acceptable end … to partner with Russians geopolitically, on issues of common interest, and frankly economically.”

Obviously, the diplomatic one is one we think we hope to move pretty quickly on, because this involves the treatment of our respective missions.

The second one will be difficult, which is the question of Ukraine and the end of that conflict.

But I think that’s essential in order for the third to even be possible, which is our ability to work together on other geopolitical matters of common interest, and, of course, some pretty unique, potentially historic, economic partnerships as well.

The key that unlocks the door for those opportunities, however, is the end to this conflict.

US National Security Adviser Michael Waltz repeated calls for a “European-led security guarantee,” and increased defence spending in Europe.

“The fact that a third of our Nato allies still do not contribute the minimum of 2% of their GDP to defence a decade after we all collectively made that agreement isn’t acceptable,” he says.

This is a common effort. This isn’t just about what the United States is going to continue to contribute and what we are going to continue to ask of the American taxpayer. We all have to make those tough decisions.

We all have to contribute to our common defence, and we expect that this to be a two way street for our European allies, and the fact that both the United Kingdom, France, and others are talking about contributing more forcefully to Ukraine’s security, we think is a good thing.

On any potential meeting between Trump and Putin:

We did not set that date, but the two presidents talked about meeting and expect to meet.

US National Security Adviser Michael Waltz gets asked about Ukrainians and Europeans feeling sidelined in these talks with Russia.

“If you’re going to bring both sides together, you have to talk to both sides. And we’ll continue to remind everyone, literally, within minutes of president Trump hanging up with President Putin, he called [and] spoke with president Zelensky,” he says, praising “shuttle diplomacy.”

The US “will continue to push back on this notion that our allies haven’t been consulted: they’re being and they are being literally almost on a daily basis, and we’ll continue to do so,” he says.

US state secretary Marco Rubio:

What’s important to understand is two things. The first is [that] the only leader in the world who can make this happen, who can even bring people together to begin to talk about it in a serious way, is President Trump.

The second thing I would say is that in order for a conflict to end, everyone involved in that conflict has to be okay with it has to be it has to be acceptable to them.

He says today’s meeting was “the first step of a long and difficult journey.”

He says that “in order to bring an end to any conflict, there has to be concessions made by all sides,” but it would be wrong to “predetermine those.”

He hints at a role for the EU further down the line, saying that “there are other parties that have sanctions, the European Union 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’s fair, enduring, sustainable and acceptable to all parties involved. What that looks like? Well, that’s what this what the ongoing engagement is going to be all about.”

The US delegation is now speaking to the media.

US National Security Adviser Michael Waltz says that:

There’s some underlying principles.

This needs to be a permanent end to the war, and not a temporary end, as we’ve seen in the past.

We know just the practical reality is that there is going to be some discussion of territory, and there’s going to be discussion of security guarantees. Those are fundamental basics that will, that will undergird and underlie any type of discussion.

But I think the most important part is the President has stated his desire, his determination to end this war, to end the killing that is going on … It is not in the interest of either country. It’s not in the interest of the world, and certainly not in the interest of the United States and Europe.

So all of those things will drive the negotiations going forward.

Can’t help but wonder how Ukrainian and European officials feel reading about plans to “address irritants” to the US-Russia relationship.

Going on a limb, but I think they may not be happy with the choice of words here.

The US and Russian delegations have agreed to “address irritants to our bilateral relationship with the objective of taking steps necessary to normalise the operation of our respective diplomatic missions,” US state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said after today’s Riyadh talks.

The two sides also agreed to appoint high-level teams for Ukraine talks, “working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible in a way that is enduring, sustainable, and acceptable to all sides,” she said.

The US and Russia will also begin to look at “future cooperation on matters of mutual geopolitical interest and historic economic and investment opportunities which will emerge from a successful end to the conflict in Ukraine,” she added.

The statement claims that:

President Trump wants to stop the killing; the United States wants peace and is using its strength in the world to bring countries together. President Trump is the only leader in the world who can get Ukraine and Russia to agree to that.

“The parties to today’s meetings pledge to remain engaged to make sure the process moves forward in a timely and productive manner,” it said.

But on timelines, the statement noted that “one phone call followed by one meeting is not sufficient to establish enduring peace,” and so it is only a start of the process.

The US also thanked Saudi Arabia for hosting the talks.

We are getting more reactions from Ushakov, who said that separate teams of Russian and US negotiators will begin contacts on Ukraine in due time.

He added that the decision to begin contacts with US on Ukraine ultimately would fall to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

On any Trump-Putin meeting, he said that “the delegations of the two countries need to work closely together.”

“We are ready for this, but it is still difficult to talk about a specific date for the meeting of the two leaders,” he said, quoted by Associated Press.