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.

The United States and Russia agreed on Tuesday to address "irritants" to the U.S.-Russia relationship and begin working on a path to end Russia's war in Ukraine, the State Department said, making clear the effort was in its early stages.

The talks build on last week's phone call between President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin during which the two leaders agreed to work together toward a negotiated end to the war.

High-level delegations from the U.S. and Russia held talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday over the fate of Ukraine, the negotiations taking place without Kyiv's participation. The State Department said the talks were aimed to discuss ending the three-year-long war,

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that Russia and the U.S. have agreed to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties