A high-level delegation from Russia and the United States has begun their negotiations in Saudi Arabia aimed at restoring bilateral relations and paving the way for a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.
The meeting in Riyadh is attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Putin’s top foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, and Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).
Meanwhile, the US is represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
The US Administration has left out Ukraine and its European backers from the talks currently taking place in Saudi Capital.
In the run-up to the meeting, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky signalled that Kiev was left and that it “considers any negotiations about Ukraine that are being held without Ukraine as having no results.”
US-Russia meeting in Riyadh will ‘have no results’ Zelensky said.
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Russian diplomats previously said the key goals of the talks include “restoring the entire complex of Russian-American relations,” as well as “preparing for possible negotiations on the Ukrainian settlement,” laying the ground for the upcoming meeting between Putin and Trump.
The high-stakes talks became possible after a phone call between Trump and Putin last week.
Following the conversation, Trump said he does not think it is “practical” for Ukraine to join NATO, adding that Kiev has very little chance of regaining territory that has become part of Russia over the past decade.
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