Messenger in the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al-Saud, National Security Advisor Mosad Bin Mohammad al-Aiban, adviser to the President of Russia, Yuri Ushakov, and the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrow participates in a meeting at the Diriyah Palace in Riyadh on February 18, 2025.
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Russian and US officials have their first formal meeting on Tuesday, when they meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss the Conversations Foundation on the end of the war in Ukraine.
The meeting between the American Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrow, which began in the last hour, means the first formal meeting between the TOP USA and Russian diplomats from January 2022, when the then secretary of State Antony Blinken and Lavrow met in Geneva A few weeks before the invasion of Russia to Ukraine.
According to the Russian state media, the Steve Witkoff and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz take part in Lawrovu, accompanied by the Kremlin, Yura Ushakov, without plans of the private meeting of Rubio and Lavrow.
The Russian delegation, headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrow (Front), arrives in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to meet their American counterparts, February 17, 2025. The meeting focuses on bilateral bonds of Russia and the USA, preparations for talks about Ukraine And the potential meeting of Putin-Trump.
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A well -known meeting appears after US President Donald Trump announced last week that he and Russian President Putin agreed to start negotiations to end the three -year war in Ukraine.
It seems that both sides lose the potential result of this first meeting. A spokesman for the Department of State Tammy Bruce told journalists on Monday that the Riyjad meeting was designed to “determine whether the Russians were serious and whether they are on the same side.”
Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said on Monday that the meeting was to discuss the restoration of bilateral relations and “preparation for potential Ukrainian peace conversations”, as well as the upcoming meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to comments translated by NBC News.
US Secretary of State Marco Antonio Rubio (L) meets with the Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud (R) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia February 17, 2025.
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Kirill Dmitryv, the head of Russia of the Sovereign Property Fund, is also part of the Russian delegation in Riyadh, and his presence signals that Moscow wants to emphasize the economic benefits of restoring bonds.
In an interview with the Russian media on Tuesday, Dmitriv estimates that “American companies lost about $ 300 billion of leaving Russia. So there are huge economic fees in many countries, knowing what is happening now, and we think that as the opportunity to solution “solutions” he said, according to Report of interfax news agencies.
Ukraine and Europe frozen
Kyiv said that officials from Ukraine will not be present at talks in Riyadh, and European allies also remain frozen from the discussion.
Kiev's management warned that he would not agree to any peace agreement that is contrary to his interests, while European leaders warned at a security conference in Munich last weekend, that every agreement without his commitment would not work.
European leaders had Emergency meeting In Paris on Monday, where they agreed to the need to increase defense expenses rapidly, but they could not agree whether to send peace army to Ukraine as part of the post -war plan.
Great Britain said that they are ready to send peace army to Ukraine, but they stated that the US would have to provide “backstop” to support the distribution, while Denmark and France signaled the desire to consider sending soldiers to the country.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a meeting on security issues in Europe at the Elysée Palace on February 17, 2025 in Paris.
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Other nations, including some of the greatest supporters of Ukraine, Poland and Germany, are careful. The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was openly critical of this idea, calling it “completely premature” and “highly inappropriate”, while the leaders of Italy, Spain and Norway seemed more cynical in terms of this idea.
Being worried about staying near President Trump, the prime minister of Great Britain, Keir Starmer, is to meet the president next week, while French President Emmanuel Macron said that after the emergency peak he talked to Trump and Zelenskyy.
“We are looking for strong and lasting peace in Ukraine. To achieve this, Russia must end aggression, and this must be accompanied by strong and reliable safety guarantees for Ukrainians. Otherwise, there is a risk that this suspension of the weapon will be a minsk agreement. Macron said on the Social Media platform X.