TOMORT Tuesday representatives of Russia and the United States will hold a meeting in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, to address the normalization of bilateral relations and preparations for a summit among the presidents of both countries.
By order of Putin, Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Serguéi Lavrov, and the Kremlin advisor, Yuri Ushakov, who already left for Riyadh, explained Dmitri Peskov, presidential spokesman, in his daily telephone press conference.
Head of Russian diplomacy starts to negotiations with the USA.
Russia will begin a high level dialogue with American representatives in Saudi Arabia. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Serguéi Lavrov, will travel to Riad by instruction of President Putin. pic.twitter.com/dout2xfaeb
– RT in Spanish (@ActualidadRT) February 17, 2025
According to Peskov, the meeting will also be dedicated “to the preparation of possible negotiations for the arrangement in Ukraine and the organization of the meeting” between Putin and its American colleague, Donald Trump.
Kremlin spokesman stressed that today in the world “everyone now tries to talk about what needs to stop, whatever war.” “This is something positive,” he said.
The special envoy of the United States for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, reported this Sunday that an American delegation would travel shortly Saudi Arabia to meet with Russian officials.
Rubio is already in Riad
Meanwhile, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, arrived on Riad on Monday on the second scale of his first tour in the Middle East, a matter that Kremlin also hopes to be addressed at Tuesday’s meeting.
Rubio arrived from Israel and plans to meet with the heir prince and Saudi Prime Minister Mohamed Bin Salmán (MBS), the strong man of Saudi Arabia, as well as with the Foreign Minister of the Arab Kingdom, Faisal Bin Farhan, according to media of the Kingdom of the Kingdom Arabic cited by EFE.
Rubio’s trip to Riad, who will continue with another to the United Arab Emirates, coincides with the information on the plan .
According to Media, the national security advisor Michael Waltz and Witkoff himself are expected to participate in the conversations in Riad.
USA and Russia prepare every summit train to end the war in Ukraine
At the same time, a Ukrainian delegation headed by the president, Volodimir Zelenski, will also be present in Saudi Arabia although it is not clear if he will participate in the conversations.
Trump announced last Wednesday after talking by phone with Putin an agreement for the start of peace negotiations in Ukraine without Europe, which outraged Brussels and kyiv, who has said they will not accept an arrangement behind them.
A Saudi official told CNN that more than simple hosts, they would participate in a mediation role. The Saudi team will be led by the National Security Advisor.
