The backdrop of these negotiations is closely tied to the political climate in the United States and Russia. Trump, aiming to bolster his image as a global negotiator in an election year, has tried to project this development as a diplomatic achievement of his administration.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have begun talks in Riyadh on ending the war in Ukraine, according to a photo released by the Russian Foreign Ministry, with representatives from Kiev noticeably absent.

U.S. and Russian participants have quietly met in Switzerland for unofficial discussions about the Ukraine war in recent months, including as recently as last week, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.