'We agreed to consider each other's interests' — Russia and US conclude Ukraine peace talks in Saudi Arabia

A member of Russia's delegation that met with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18 to discuss ending the war in Ukraine has said the talks were "not bad," but it was "hard to say" if the two sides' interests were converging.

Speaking to the pro-Kremlin Channel One Russia, Yuri Ushakov, an advisor to Russia's President Vladimir Putin, said it was a "very serious discussion of all the issues we wanted to touch upon."

"We have agreed to take account of each other's interests and develop bilateral relations, since both Moscow and Washington are interested in this," he added.

A Russian delegation led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met a U.S. delegation led by State Secretary Marco Rubio, the first official face-to-face contact between the two sides since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking after the talks, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the meeting was "an important step forward," but added: "One phone call followed by one meeting is not sufficient to establish enduring peace."

Ushakov also said a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin were discussed, but it was unlikely to take place next week as had been previously speculated.

Separate teams of negotiators from the United States and Russia will start communicating on Ukraine "in due course," according to Ushakov.

Russia and the U.S. also held separate talks on economic cooperation, including on global energy prices, Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev told Reuters.

Though the U.S. and Russia met without Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky will also head to Saudi Arabia this week.

NBC reported that the intention is for the U.S. to host a bilateral meeting with Russia, followed by a bilateral meeting with Ukraine, and culminating with talks together.