BBC Breakfast's Jon Kay and Sarah Campbell delivered some urgent news at the top of Tuesday's programme. As a "breaking news" banner flashed across the screen, Jon informed BBC viewers that initial discussions aimed at halting the conflict in Ukraine were underway. Sarah provided further details, saying: "Talks between UK Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior Russian officials about a peace settlement in Ukraine are due to begin in Saudi Arabia in around an hour from now (6am).".
Jon continued: "On the American side, Marco Rubio's officials have described the talks as a first step to see if Russia is serious, but not as the start of negotiations to end the war.". The presenters reported that Sergey Lavrov, the Russian counterpart, arrived in Riyadh on Monday evening with his delegation. Jon noted that Sergey views the meeting as a move towards normalising US-Russia relations.
The show then switched to BBC's Washington correspondent Tom Bateman in Riyadh, who offered additional insights, reports the Express. Tom relayed: "Marco Rubio's officials are describing this as a first step towards seeing whether Russia is, in their words, 'serious' about talks going ahead to end the war. "But they are playing this down as any kind of formal start to negotiations. I have to say that the message incoming from the Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and his delegation as they landed here in Riyadh last night was very different.
"They are framing this as effectively a start of the normalisation of relations between the US and Russia.". The BBC correspondent shed light on President Donald Trump's extensive 90-minute conversation last week with Vladimir Putin, noting that the discussion's crucial aim was to lay the groundwork for a summit between the two leaders. He continued: "All of this coming with those waves of concern in Europe about being left on the sidelines. We are seeing European countries scrambling to try to shore up their collective security as they look at the kinds of things that American officials have been saying.
"Particularly in Europe and in Munich, last week when we heard the Americans call for concessions from Ukraine to end the war without the same kind of demands being articulated, it seems, towards the Russians.". Tom pointed out that Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has been kept in the dark regarding the ongoing discussions. He informed BBC viewers that the president is opposed to any agreement concerning Ukraine that excludes them from the process.
In another segment of the programme, Sarah reported that UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had stressed the importance of American intervention in resolving the conflict in Ukraine and preventing further aggression from Russia. She mentioned: "The Prime Minister also said that he would consider deploying UK troops to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.". BBC Breakfast airs daily at 6am on BBC One. Get the biggest TV headlines, recaps and insider knowledge straight to your inbox.
