DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s crown prince wasn’t in the room for the first high-level talks between Russia and the United States over Moscow’s war on Ukraine on Tuesday, but Mohammed bin Salman still won the day for hosting the gathering that could be a game-changer in the bloody conflict.

US President Donald Trump, commenting on Ukraine’s possible disappointment over its absence from the talks between the US and Russian delegations in Saudi Arabia, has said that he himself was "disappointed" by the prolonged duration of the war.