Current Affairs Of Pakistan & World: A new day for U.S.-Russia relations

A new day for U.S.-Russia relations

Feb 18, 2025

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff attend an interview after meeting with Russian officials at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio led four hours of negotiations with Russia today. | Evelyn Hockstein/pool photo via AP Photo

TO RUSSIA, WITH LOVE: The U.S. and Russia took a major step toward softening relations between the frequent adversaries in talks today in Saudi Arabia. In the most detailed negotiations in more than three years, the Trump administration signaled a sea change from the past few years of the West seeking to isolate and punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine.

Three major outcomes: Secretary of State Marco Rubio told AP’s Matthew Lee and Dasha Litvinova that he, Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and other officials agreed to 1) normalize and build back staffing at their respective embassies; 2) work more closely together on diplomatic ties and economic investment; and 3) create formal senior teams for peace talks in the Ukraine war.

It’s the last plank that is most controversial, of course, not least because Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wasn’t there. National security adviser Mike Waltz and Rubio indicated that the U.S. would consult with Ukraine and European allies but negotiate directly with Russia, WSJ’s Michael Gordon reports, which the continent would surely find unacceptable. But Rubio emphasized that nobody was being excluded. Notably, Waltz also told CNN’s Jennifer Hansler that whether Russia can keep land it has seized in the past three years will “be discussed.”

Rubio and Lavrov cast the conversations as fruitful — “we not only listened, but also heard each other,” said the Kremlin’s man — but just the beginning of a lengthy process. The Trump administration views the rapid steps toward negotiations on Ukraine as an essential path to achieve peace and save lives, as President Donald Trump campaigned on; critics worry that it’ll amount to capitulation to Moscow, or an imperialist substitution for Ukrainian decision-making.

What the talks didn’t produce yet: a Trump-Putin summit. Though both sides are working toward that, no date or details have been ironed out publicly. Rubio also said it was too soon to talk about lifting U.S. sanctions on Lavrov.

It was “a head-spinning reset” of U.S.-Russia ties that had plunged to a nadir of several decades during the war, NYT’s Anton Troianovski and Ismaeel Naar write from Riyadh. And Zelenskyy reacted angrily, postponing his trip to Saudi Arabia until next month. Back in Moscow, Russia erected harder-line demands, saying NATO must go back on a 2008 pledge to admit Ukraine in the future and can’t be involved in peacekeeping efforts, per Reuters’ Dmitry Antonov and Guy Faulconbridge.

One to watch: “G-7 Allies Weigh Tightening Russian Oil Price Cap to Hurt Moscow,” by Bloomberg’s Donato Paolo Mancini

SIREN: Another top DOJ prosecutor is out the door under murky circumstances. Denise Cheung, who’d led the criminal division at the U.S. attorney’s office for D.C., announced her resignation, which she undertook rather than freeze the assets of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, WaPo’s Carol Leonnig and Spencer Hsu report. As the Trump administration seeks to claw back the green bank’s tens of billions of dollars in climate and clean energy grants, acting deputy AG Emil Bove ordered interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin to freeze its assets. But that can be done only if they’re linked to a crime, and Cheung thought there wasn’t sufficient evidence to go there yet.

Cheung considered the directive to launch a grand jury criminal investigation into the Biden-era EPA funding “premature,” CNN’s Katelyn Polantz, Jamie Gangel, Dana Bash and Ella Nilsen scooped. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has said $20 billion was inappropriately rushed out the door, which agency employees have contested.

Meanwhile, in New York: As NYC reels over Bove’s effort to drop the criminal corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams, Judge Dale Ho scheduled a conference on the matter for 2 p.m. tomorrow, per Bloomberg’s Ava Benny-Morrison. “He said Tuesday that, though the government’s decision to abandon a prosecution is entitled to great weight, the court must independently determine that its reasons are substantial.”

Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.

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9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. DeJOY OF LEAVING: Postmaster General Louis DeJoy signaled he intends to step down after more than four years, requesting that the board of governors start looking for a replacement, POLITICO’s Amanda Friedman reports. The timing of his departure isn’t yet clear. Read DeJoy’s letter to the board

2. SOUTH OF THE BORDER: “CIA flying covert drone missions into Mexico to spy on drug cartels,” by CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, Katie Bo Lillis and Zachary Cohen: “The MQ-9 drones used for the missions are not currently armed. But they can be equipped with payloads to carry out precision strikes. … Some current and former officials say designating cartels as terrorist groups could potentially lay the groundwork for direct US strikes against the cartels and their drug labs in Mexico. … [T]he more recent flights were communicated to Congress by the Trump administration using a particular notification reserved for new or updated covert programs that the CIA intends either to conceal or deny.”

3. RACE FOR THE HOUSE: Two notable new Democrats are jumping into high-profile reach targets for the party as leaders seek to flip the House next year. In New York, county legislator Beth Davidson is the first major Democrat to launch a campaign against GOP Rep. Mike Lawler, NYT’s Nicholas Fandos reports. She’s already hammering Lawler — who appears to be considering a gubernatorial run — over Elon Musk and high prices facing the working class.

And in California, former school board member Christina Gagnier will join a potentially crowded Democratic primary to challenge GOP Rep. Young Kim, POLITICO’s Melanie Mason reports. Gagnier says she’ll frame her campaign around a message of taking on bullies, including on transgender rights, as House Majority PAC’s CJ Warnke says they’ll “take a much tougher look at Young Kim” earlier this cycle.

4. THE PURGE: As soon as today, mass firings could hit NOAA and NASA, Axios’ Andrew Freedman and Ben Gaman report. NOAA could see up to 1,000 people — 10 percent of its workforce — canned; it’s an open question whether its National Weather Service will be exempted.

Elsewhere, the public health and scientific research world is reeling over Trump cuts that decimated two major training programs for the next generation of leaders, NYT’s Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports. But a third, the Epidemic Intelligence Service, where firings were widely reported over the weekend, now “has apparently been spared.” New talent has also been shown the door across several other public health agencies. “The dismissals have also rattled graduate students eyeing careers in public health and the biomedical sciences.”

With a new administration in place, how will governors work with the federal government and continue to lead the way on issues like AI, health care, economic development, education, energy and climate? Hear from Gov. Jared Polis, Gov. Brian Kemp and more at POLITICO's Governors Summit on February 20. RSVP today.

5. THE LATEST SWING AT DEI: The General Services Administration is unwinding a Biden-era effort to take diversity, equity and inclusion practices into consideration for contracts across the federal government, WSJ’s Michelle Hackman scooped. The GSA called for renegotiations of long contracts with DEI provisions, a first step in a broader effort to overhaul procurement regulations. Also out: paper straws.

6. KNOWING FRANK SCHULER: “Trump Vowed to Clean Up Washington, Then His Team Hired a Man Who Pushed a Scam the IRS Called the ‘Worst of the Worst,’” by ProPublica’s Peter Elkind: “[T]he new acting administrator of the General Services Administration, Stephen Ehikian, has appointed a senior adviser whose firm used to specialize in tax transactions that a bipartisan Senate committee excoriated and that the IRS branded as ‘abusive’ … The adviser has been battling the tax agency in court over $4 billion in disallowed deductions for thousands of his clients.” Schuler and the GSA didn’t respond to their requests for comment.

7. IMMIGRATION FILES: The U.S. is deporting hundreds of would-be asylum-seekers from Asia, the Middle East and Africa to Panama and Costa Rica, because their home countries won’t readily take them back, NYT’s Julie Turkewitz, Hamed Aleaziz, Farnaz Fassihi and Annie Correal report. The migrants in Panama have now been shorn of their passports and trapped in a hotel for several days, in apparent contravention of the law, though Panama claims to be following international standards. Their fates are in Panamanian officials’ hands now. Two have attempted suicide. The group will soon be sent to a camp near the Darién Gap.

8. ROAD TO MAROCCO: “In Trump’s War on Foreign Aid, a Loyal Soldier Returns to Battle,” by NYT’s Mark Mazzetti and Karoun Demirjian: During a recent meeting with a representative of Viktor Orbán’s government, “according to statements released by the Hungarian official, Tristan Azbej, [Pete] Marocco pledged to halt all aid programs that ‘intervened’ in Hungary’s internal affairs. … Gutting aid programs can be a weapon to punish some countries, especially those that are poor. It can also be a gift for others where Mr. Trump is seeking a friendlier relationship. Mr. Marocco is now directing the battle rhythm.”

9. CLICKER: “What we know about the 14 percent of federal awards in Trump’s crosshairs,” by POLITICO’s Jessie Blaeser: “POLITICO analyzed federal financial data for thousands of spending programs to determine how much will be in Trump’s crosshairs after the court battles resolve. The results show that his administration plans to home in on about 14 percent of federal grant and loan spending, spanning 56 departments and agencies, and providing awards in all 50 states. And people in blue states are more likely to feel the brunt. … The top program at risk for both red and blue states is highway planning and construction.”

A message from Better Medicare Alliance:

Millions of seniors are experiencing higher costs and fewer benefits due to Medicare Advantage cuts. Seniors can't afford to be squeezed more. Protect Medicare Advantage.

TALK OF THE TOWN

TRANSITIONS — Adam Frisch is now director of electoral programs and finance chair at WelcomePAC. He previously was a two-time Democratic congressional nominee in Colorado. … John Vick has been named the new executive director of Concerned Veterans for America. He is a Marine Corps and Navy veteran who continues to serve in the Navy Reserve as an intelligence officer supporting U.S. Central Command, and is an RNC and House Veterans’ Affairs alum. … Jeremy Medovoy is now a partner at McGuireWoods. He previously was deputy director of FERC’s Office of Enforcement. …

… Emily Benavides is now chief of staff for Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio). She most recently was founder of Benavides Strategies, and is a Rob Portman alum and longtime GOP strategist. … Chris Padilla is now a senior adviser at Brunswick Group. He previously led global government and regulatory affairs for IBM, and is a Commerce Department alum. … Michael Desmond is joining Miller & Chevalier as co-lead of its tax controversy and litigation practice. He previously was at Gibson Dunn, and is a former IRS chief counsel.

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