Talks between the delegations of Russia and the United States started in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. For the first time in several years, officials from Moscow and Washington gathered around the same table. The main goal is to try to establish a dialogue between the countries, which was completely interrupted at the initiative of the previous US administration. The participants in today’s meeting also plan to discuss the possibility of resolving the Ukrainian crisis.
Moscow is represented by presidential aide Yury Ushakov, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and the delegation also includes the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev. On the US side, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and US Special Envoy to Russia Steve Whitkoff arrived in Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia is represented at the negotiating table by Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and National Security Adviser Musaad bin Mohammed Al Aiban.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said he hoped all parties concerned would participate in the settlement talks. There is no Ukrainian delegation or EU representatives in Riyadh today.
The talks are held at the Diriyah Palace, which is one of the residences of the Saudi royal family. It is a large complex with its own mosque and orchards, located near Riyadh’s international airport.
RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said he would be responsible for the economic aspect of the discussion. He said Moscow hopes for a positive dialogue and sees that President Trump is “very active in solving a large number of problems in the world.”
Political analysts believe that representatives of the EU and Ukraine are not participating in the negotiations because the topic of the talks will be peace, while Ukraine and the EU are in favour of the continuation of the conflict.
Kyiv is not invited and does not recognise the talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the day before that the Kyiv authorities would not recognise any agreements to resolve the conflict if they were concluded in Riyadh. “Ukraine regards any negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine as such that have no result. And we cannot recognise any things or any agreements about us without us. And we will not recognise such agreements,” he said.
However, on February 16, Zelensky and his wife flew to the United Arab Emirates. According to the Ukrainian president, his visit to Saudi Arabia, which will take place on February 19, has nothing to do with the negotiations. However, he promised to ask Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud what he knows about the topics of the negotiations.
US businessman and head of the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Elon Musk commented on the arrival of the Russian delegation to Saudi Arabia. “This is what competent leadership looks like,” he wrote on social network X in response to a post by entrepreneur Mario Naufal.
Ukraine irrevocably lost Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia
On Monday, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said that Britain and European Union countries are completely underhanded and blinded by Russophobia.
Nebenzya also added that in the future Ukraine should become a demilitarised state and not join blocs or alliances.
At the meeting, timed to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the adoption of Security Council Resolution 2202, which approved the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements, Nebenzya also said that Ukraine had irrevocably lost Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Also on Monday, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, responding to a question about possible compromises in talks with the United States and Moscow’s readiness to make territorial concessions, said:
“Indeed, Washington is starting to mention the topic of territorial concessions. They should read history.”
He recalled that such concessions had already been made to Ukraine by the Soviet Union. “And now the situation is completely different. Ukrainian armed forces act even worse than Hitler’s murderers. Look at the atrocities they are committing. And do you want there to be even a thought in the negotiations that some territories should be ceded?” Lavrov also emphasised.
“Cede territories how – with Russian people?! Or without people – with only rare earth metals? If we are talking about serious diplomacy, it is better to first understand the history of the issue,” Lavrov concluded.
The talks between Russia and the United States come less than a week after the two presidents, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, spoke officially by phone for the first time.
