U.S., Russia restore embassy staffing amid Ukraine war negotiations – National [Video]

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that officials at U.S.-Russia talks agreed to restore embassy staffing and create a high-level team to negotiate peace in Ukraine peace and promote economic cooperation.

Rubio said that actions over the last several years have reduced both countries’ diplomatic missions’ abilities to operate.

“We’re going to need to have vibrant diplomatic missions that are able to function normally in order to be able to continue these conduits,” he said.

This comes as top diplomats from Russia and the U.S. met Tuesday in Saudi Arabia to discuss improving ties and negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine — talks that reflected a major and rapid change in American foreign policy under U.S. President Donald Trump.

No Ukrainian officials were present at the meeting, which came as the beleaguered country is slowly but steadily losing ground against more numerous Russian troops in a grinding war that began nearly three years ago. Ukraine …