The Russian delegation, led by Overseas Minister Sergey Lavrov (entrance), arrive in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to fulfill with their American counterparts, on February 17, 2025. Assembly will deal with Russia-U.S. bilateral ties, preparations for talks on Ukraine and a possible Putin-Trump assembly.
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Russian and U.S. officers are holding their first formal assembly in years on Tuesday, as they meet in Saudi Arabia to debate the inspiration for talks on finish the warfare in Ukraine.
The assembly between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Overseas Minister Sergei Lavrov, which started within the final hour, marks the primary formal sit-down assembly between high U.S. and Russian diplomats since January 2022, when then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Lavrov met in Geneva simply weeks earlier than Russia invaded Ukraine.
U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff and Nationwide Safety Adviser Mike Waltz are collaborating within the assembly whereas Lavrov is accompanied by Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov, in line with Russian state media, with no plans for a personal assembly between Rubio and Lavrov.
The high-profile assembly comes after U.S. President Donald Trump introduced final week that he and Russian President Putin had agreed to begin negotiations to finish the three-year warfare in Ukraine.
Either side look like taking part in down the potential end result of this primary assembly. State Division Spokesperson Tammy Bruce instructed reporters on Monday that the Riyadh assembly was designed to “decide if the Russians maybe are critical, and in the event that they’re on the identical web page.”
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned Monday that the assembly was to debate restoring bilateral relations and “preparations for potential Ukraine peace talks” in addition to a forthcoming assembly between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, in line with feedback translated by NBC Information.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Antonio Rubio (L) meets with Saudi Overseas Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud (R) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 17, 2025.
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Kirill Dmitriev, the pinnacle of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, can also be part of the Russian delegation in Riyadh along with his presence signalling that Moscow is eager to emphasise the financial advantages of restoring ties.
Chatting with Russian media retailers Tuesday, Dmitriev estimates that “U.S. companies misplaced round $300 billion from leaving Russia. So there may be large financial toll on many international locations from what’s taking place proper now, and we consider as a approach ahead is thru options,” he mentioned, in line with a news agency Interfax report.
Ukraine and Europe frozen out
Officers from Ukraine won’t be current on the talks in Riyadh, Kyiv mentioned, and European allies additionally stay frozen out of the discussions for now.
Kyiv’s management has warned that it’ll not conform to any peace deal that goes towards its pursuits, whereas European leaders warned on the Munich Safety Convention final weekend that any settlement made with out its involvement wouldn’t work.
European leaders held an emergency meeting in Paris on Monday the place they agreed on the necessity to sharply improve protection spending however couldn’t agree on whether or not to ship peacekeeping troops to Ukraine as a part of a post-war plan.
The U.Ok. has mentioned it’s prepared to ship peacekeeping troops to Ukraine however mentioned the U.S. would want to supply a “backstop” to assist the deployment, whereas Denmark and France signaled a willingness to think about sending troops to the nation.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer throughout a gathering on safety points in Europe on the Elysée Palace on Feb. 17, 2025, in Paris.
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Different nations, together with a few of Ukraine’s largest backers, Poland and Germany, are cautious, nevertheless. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was brazenly vital of the thought, calling it “utterly untimely” and “extremely inappropriate” whereas the leaders of Italy, Spain and Norway seemed to be extra cynical in regards to the thought.
Anxious to stay near President Trump, U.Ok. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is because of meet the president subsequent week, whereas French President Emmanuel Macron mentioned he’d spoken to Trump and Zelenskyy after the emergency summit.
“We search a powerful and lasting peace in Ukraine. To attain this, Russia should finish its aggression, and this should be accompanied by robust and credible safety ensures for the Ukrainians. In any other case, there’s a threat that this ceasefire will find yourself just like the Minsk agreements. We’ll work on this along with all Europeans, Individuals, and Ukrainians. That is the important thing,” Macron said on social media platform X.
