US and Russian officials are meeting in Saudi Arabia for talks on ending the war in Ukraine, but Ukrainian officials have not been invited (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)
AP
Helena Wadia @helenawadia|Rachelle Abbott
18 February 2025
Talks today in Saudi Arabia saw the US and Russia discussing a peace deal to end Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Helena Wadia is joined by Evening Standard’s Political Editor Nicholas Cecil, to discuss the aims of the talks and what we can expect going forward.
The meeting was the first face-to-face discussion between the two countries since the war began in 2022.
But who was involved in the peace talks? Crucially, not Ukraine.
In part two, Rachelle Abbott and Evening Standard’s Defence Editor, Robert Fox, discuss how a dramatic shift in US policy impacts UK defence spending and military reform.