Russia-US talks in Riyadh

Photo: TASS

High-level talks of the Russian and US delegations have concluded in Riyadh, the meeting lasted about 4.5 hours, a TASS correspondent reported from Riyadh.

The talks started around 10:30 a.m. Moscow time (7:30 a.m. GMT). After about two hours and a half, the sides took a 15-minute break, and after an additional hour passed, the participants left for lunch.

Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and special envoy for the Middle East Stephen Witkoff were participating in the negotiations. The talks were held in one of the royal family's palaces – Al Diriyah in the Albasateen complex.

Russian and US delegations are holding talks in Riyadh, where it is planned to discuss the recovery of the entire package of bilateral relations and preparations for discussions of settlement in Ukraine and the meeting between the leaders of two countries, TASS reports on the eve of negotiations.

Representatives of the Russian and American media were simultaneously led to the meeting venue, with Russian and US journalists waiting in different parts of the building.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz.
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS

Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said that the teams had a "very serious conversation on all issues," TASS quotes.

Yury Ushakov said that the delegations had a "very serious conversation on all issues." However, it is still hard to say that the positions of Russia and the US are getting closer, according to the official. He also said Russia and the US agreed to "take into account each other's interests." According to the aide, a date for a meeting between Putin and Trump hasn’t been set and it is unlikely that it will take place next week. He said it is not yet clear who would be appointed as negotiators on Ukrainian settlement, as the president has yet to make a decision.

The date of the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump has still not been set, and will likely not take place next week, Yury Ushakov said, TASS quotes.

"The delegations of the two countries have a lot of work to do. We are ready for this but it is still difficult to speak about the specific date of the meeting between the two leaders," Yury Ushakov said in an interview with Russia’s Channel One television channel.

Yury Ushakov commented on a Bloomberg report which claimed that the two presidents may meet next week, saying: "it’s unlikely."

However, he confirmed that the presidential meeting was a topic of discussion at the Riyadh summit.

"The issue was discussed. We are working out the terms of this meeting," Yury Ushakov added.

“Rubio and Lavrov agreed to appoint respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible,” State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement. They also agreed to establish a consultation mechanism to address irritants to the bilateral relationship and lay the groundwork for future cooperation on matters of mutual geopolitical interest and economic and investment opportunities.

The progress in talks between Russia and the United States is possible in the next two-three months, chief executive of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev said, TASS reports.

"We cannot disclose details. Everything I can say that we have a very important track on the economy. And, clearly, there is a political issue. I am not dealing with political issues but with investment and economic issues. We have a number of proposals our colleagues are thinking of. I believe progress may be achieved there not in the long run but during the next two-three months," Dmitriev noted.

Kirill Dmitriev said following the Russia-US talks in Riyadh that it is "too early to talk about compromises."

"I think it is too early to talk about compromises. We can say that the sides started communicating with each other, started listening to each other, started the dialog," he told.

According to Dmitriev, the Russian and US teams treated each other with respect, as equals.

Russia expects the US delegation to detail President Donald Trump's position on the Ukrainian settlement at the talks in Riyadh, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told reporters.

"We know Trump's position [on Ukraine]. Today we expect it to be explained in detail to our representatives, who have been appointed by Russian President [Vladimir Putin to lead the talks in Riyadh]," the senior diplomat said.

At the same time, he compared the position of the new US president with the policy of the previous administration, which played "an extremely negative role, escalating this conflict, turning Ukraine into anti-Russia, supplying it with modern weapons."

Moscow sees the nervous reaction of Western countries to the Russia-US contacts, they are causing real hysteria, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.

"We see a nervous, if not to say panicky reaction of the West to the Russia-US contacts," she said. "Russian-American contacts at high and the highest levels are causing real hysteria among Euro-Atlantic Russophobes," the diplomat emphasized.

The spokeswoman pointed to "an unprecedented phenomenon in international relations: the imposition of one's own participation in the negotiation process."

"We are talking about some British-EU friends of the criminal regime of [Vladimir] Zelensky, who are demonstrating an inability to go beyond their own primitive attitudes to produce a hybrid war with our country to the last Ukrainian," Zakharova concluded.

read more in our Telegram-channel https://t.me/The_International_Affairs