Top Russian and American officials met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to begin discussions on improving relations and ending the war in Ukraine.
The meeting at Diliya Palace in Riyadh marks another vital step by the Trump administration, reversing US policies on Russia's quarantine, paving the way for a meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin It is intended to do so.
Earlier this month, Trump improved US policies towards Ukraine and Russia, saying that he and Putin agreed to start negotiations to end the war.
Ukrainian officials have not attended the meeting, and Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky said on Monday that his country will not accept the outcome unless Kiev participates.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Putin's foreign affairs advisor Yuri Ushakov arrived in the Saudi Arabian capital on Monday night. Ushakov said the talks were “purely bilateral” and did not include Ukrainian officials.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkov will meet the Russian delegation, State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce said.
The talks show that a significant expansion of US-Russia contact led to nearly three years of war, and the linkage fell to the lowest level in decades.
Lavroff and then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken briefly spoke about the bystanders of the G-20 conference in India almost two years ago. In the fall of 2022, US and Russian spymasters met in Turkey about Washington's concerns that Moscow could turn to. Nuclear weapons in the retreat of the battlefield.
The recent US diplomatic blitz on the war scrambled Kiev and the Key Allies to secure a seat at the table amid concerns that Washington and Moscow could push for deals that were not favorable to them.
France called an emergency meeting between the European Union and the UK on Monday to decide how to respond.
Prior to the talks, Kiril Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, who said the Kremlin might attend the meeting, stressed the importance of the meeting in a comment to the Associated Press.
“Good US-Russia relations are extremely important to the whole world. Russia and the US can only address many global problems, resolve global conflicts and provide solutions.” He and his team said they will focus on financial issues at the meeting.
Citing the Russian delegation, Saudi Arabia, a satellite channel owned by the Saudi Arabia described Moscow's priorities as “a true normalization with Washington.”
Diliya Palace is located across the street from the diplomatic district of Riyadh. It is also located right next to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. This became famous in 2017 after the virtual leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, detained the other princes and the country's elite. He challenges him to rule the kingdom.
Convening consultations is a major step towards the goals Prince Mohammed has pursued during the war, putting the kingdom in the midst of diplomatic negotiations.
It helped negotiate the prisoners and hosted Ukrainian President Vodia Voldimi Zelensky for the Arab League summit held in the Kingdom in 2023. Zelensky will travel to Saudi Arabia later this week.
In the case of Prince Mohammed, who was once called “Pariah” by former President Joe Biden about the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, such a lecture must be held for him. He burns the image of the accused.
Ahead of the summit, Saudi Arabia's daily newspaper Oqué described the moment as “the world's eye for Riyadh.”
Journalist Mishari al-Daidy writes for Asharq al Awsat, a London-based, but Saudi-owned newspaper. The summit “is a major step in the international political chess arena, revealing Saudi Arabia's status and its positive impact, revealing its positive impact. Everyone is people,” he wrote .
The Prince, a neighboring United Arab Emirates, maintains close ties with Russia, diplomatically with the OPEC+ oil cartel, through the war with Ukraine.
Holding the summit also balances the harsh criticism recently imposed by the strictly controlled media of President Donald Trump's kingdom. .
Palestinians want Gaza and the West Bank for future nations supported by the wider Arab world and almost all international communities.
