US and Russia pursue peace talks in Riyadh without Ukraine at the table
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US National Security AdvisEr Mike Waltz and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff attend an interview after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy advisEr Yuri Ushakov, at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 18, 2025.
The US and Russia met on Tuesday for the first time in Saudi Arabia to begin negotiations on the future of Ukraine. The two sides agreed to set up teams that will hammer out an agreement. Ukrainian and European leaders are not happy about being left out. Also, in the wake of yet another airline disaster, many are wondering whether air travel is more dangerous than in the past or if we’re just hearing about crashes more often than we used to. A Delta flight flipped over on Monday after landing in Toronto. And, after World War II, center-right parties in Germany formed a solid buffer against extremist parties, refusing to cooperate with them. Up until now, that buffer seemed to hold. But a gamble from Friedrich Merz, Germany’s likely next chancellor, to accept the votes of far-right lawmakers to try and pass his hard-line immigration laws, has led many to say he has broken the firewall.
Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air.
The story you just read is not locked behind a paywall because listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Now more than ever, we need your help to support our global reporting work and power the future of The World. Can we count on you?