Secretary of State Marco Rubio told European allies that the Trump administration would keep its Russia sanctions in place at least until a deal to end the Ukraine conflict is reached, people familiar with the matter said.

U.S. and Russian officials met on Tuesday in Riyadh for their first talks on ending the war in Ukraine, as Kyiv and its European allies watched anxiously from the sidelines and Moscow raised a new demand that NATO formally disavow a membership promise it made to Ukraine in 2008.

It the first time U.S. and Russian officials have met since Moscow invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago. Ukraine was excluded from the talks.