WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- The United States and Russia agreed to normalize bilateral ties and begin working on ending the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the State Department said following Tuesday's meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Saudi Arabia.
According to the statement issued, the two sides agreed to "establish a consultation mechanism to address irritants to our bilateral relationship with the objective of taking steps necessary to normalize the operation of our respective diplomatic missions."
Washington and Moscow will "appoint respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible in a way that is enduring, sustainable, and acceptable to all sides," the statement said.
The two sides agreed to "lay the groundwork for future cooperation on matters of mutual geopolitical interest and historic economic and investment opportunities which will emerge from a successful end to the conflict in Ukraine," the statement said.
Parties attending the meeting "pledge to remain engaged to make sure the process moves forward in a timely and productive manner."
Rubio was accompanied by U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff at the meeting, while Lavrov's team included Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, according to the statement. ■