Top U.S. and Russian officials have had their most extensive high-level engagement since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine almost three years ago.

The meeting marked the first high-level discussions between the two countries since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The setting for these talks was Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, where both nations discussed their strained relationship and explored ways to ease tensions.

Russian and U.S. diplomats will meet in Istanbul on Thursday for talks aimed at restoring their respective diplomatic missions, seen as a step towards ending the war in Ukraine, both sides said on Wednesday.

Senior officials from the U.S. and Russia meet in Saudi Arabia on improving ties and ending the war in Ukraine - but Ukraine isn't invited.

Last week, high-level talks between Russia and the United States took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The talks focused on strategies to end the ongoing war in Ukraine and restore severely strained dip

Putin's spokesperson pointed media to comments from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week in which he said that “the deployment of troops ... is, of course, unacceptable to us.”