On 18 February, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held nearly five hours of talks in Riyadh, the Saudi Arabia capital, according to Espreso.
Lavrov described the negotiations as an effort to end the “abnormal period” in relations between the two “great powers.” The discussions were expected to lay the groundwork for a potential meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian ruler Vladimir Putin.
The US delegation included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff. Russia was represented by Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Russian Direct Investment Fund chief Kirill Dmitriev. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and National Security Advisor Musaid bin Mohammed Al Aiban also participated in the meeting.
Following the talks, Ushakov told Russian media the negotiations had “gone well,” adding that Russia and the US had agreed to “consider each other’s interests.” However, he acknowledged that it was too early to say whether the two countries were moving closer.
A specific date for a Trump-Putin meeting remains undecided. Separate negotiating teams from Russia and the US will establish contact on Ukraine, though the composition of Russia’s delegation will be determined by Putin.
According to Sky News Arabia, the US State Department stated that Rubio and Lavrov agreed to create a consultation mechanism to address “stress factors” in US-Russia relations. They also agreed to form a high-level group to “swiftly” explore ways to end the war in Ukraine.
Daria Zarivna, communications advisor to the head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, called the negotiations “an attempt to bring Russia back into the conversation with the West about rules and justice.”
She warned that Moscow was using the talks to manipulate and stall for time, as Putin’s true goal remains Ukraine’s destruction and the restoration of Russian influence over Eastern Europe in a Soviet-style model.
Previously, Trump had announced that US and Russian officials would meet in Saudi Arabia for talks on the war, claiming Ukraine would be involved. However, it did not happen.
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