Russia-US talks kick off, Meet provoke nervous reaction in EU: Moscow

U.S. and Russian officials met on Tuesday in Riyadh for the highest-level talks to date between the two former Cold War foes on ending the war in Ukraine. According to report, the meeting started without preliminaries and handshakes in the presence of the press. The members of the delegations are seated around a large rectangular table. The Russian side is seated on the right and the American side on the left. From the Russian side, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov are at the negotiating table. Opposite them are three US negotiators: President Donald Trump's national security advisor Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the US leader's special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.Representatives of Saudi Arabia sit at the head of the table. CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev was also present. He made a number of comments to the press after the talks began. The meeting is being held in one of the royal family's palaces, Diriyah in the Albasateen complex. Meanwhile, Moscow has said that contact between Russia and US ‘PROVOKE nervous reaction among European leaders’.  

Contact between Russia and US ‘PROVOKE nervous reaction among European leaders’ — Zakharova https://t.co/cOS90zAaBd pic.twitter.com/UDUwL8SQtM

— RT (@RT_com) February 18, 2025

According to both parties, the meeting also serves as a preparatory step for a future meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “There is no clear understanding yet regarding the timing of a presidential meeting. Perhaps some estimates will be made based on the outcome of Tuesday’s negotiations, but we will learn more about this later, once the dialogue concludes.” Saudi Arabia was chosen as the venue because it is acceptable to both sides, Peskov said, adding that discussions on European participation in the Ukrainian settlement talks remain premature, he said.