US-Russia talks begin in Saudi Arabia – without introductions and handshakes
18 February 2025 11:51
The first talks between the United States and Russia in three years have begun in the Saudi capital Riyadh. This was reported by the Russian state news agency TASS, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
Negotiations between representatives of the Russian Federation and the United States began without preliminary words and handshakes in the presence of the press.
The United States is represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
Russia is represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, presidential aide for international affairs Yuri Ushakov, and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev.
The latter said that Russia and the United States are discussing reunification in a number of economic areas. He expects progress in the negotiations in the next 2-3 months. Dmitriev also said that “sanctions hit the US harder than Russia.”
According to him, Russia and the United States “need to move on to joint projects, including in the Arctic.” He accused the former Biden administration of “lacking the desire to understand Russia’s concerns.” He said that “now the United States is ready to listen and understand Russia’s position.”
US oil companies may return to Russia at some point, Dmitriev told the NYT.
The first direct talks between the Russian and US delegations in three years are taking place at the Diria Palace in the Albasatin complex.
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Negotiations in Saudi Arabia
As you know, on Tuesday, February 18, representatives of the United States and Russia met in Saudi Arabia to hold preliminary talks on a truce in the Russian-Ukrainian war. Until now, it was unclear whether Ukraine’s representatives would participate. Some sources reported that they would. Three rounds of talks were supposed to take place:
- US – Russia;
- The United States – Ukraine;
- Ukraine – the United States – Russia.
Obviously, this information turned out to be unreliable, or the arrangements have changed, and there will be no Ukrainian representatives at the table.
Trump’s position on Ukraine
During the election campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly said that he would stop the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office. This deadline has already passed.
Also during the election, the media spread the so-called “Trump Plan”. The plan was that the United States would use its influence to stop the war, taking into account the status quo. To do this, Trump would force Putin and Zelenskyy to sit down at the negotiating table. If Putin does not agree to negotiate, the United States will give Ukraine all the weapons it needs to win on the battlefield. If Zelenskyy refuses to negotiate, the United States will completely stop helping Ukraine.
This plan, in its various variations, included a provision that Russia would retain the territories it temporarily occupied and that Ukraine would not join NATO.
However, later Trump seemed to “forget” about this plan. In particular, he voiced scenarios in which he would force Russia to capitulate due to the decline in world oil prices.
After Trump was elected President of the United States, one of his advisors, Brian Lanza, said that Ukraine should forget about Crimea. Trump’s entourage, however, was quick to deny this statement and said that Lanza could not speak on his behalf.
Currently, the US Special Representative for Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, is talking about 100 days within which he wants to reach some kind of agreement. Of these, 28 days have already passed. During this time, the US presidential administration has established contact with the Kremlin, an American envoy has traveled to Moscow, and Trump has spoken to Putin on the phone and agreed to meet in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, in exchange for military support, US President Donald Trump demanded $500 billion worth of rare earth metals from Ukraine. He said that the US should have access to Ukraine’s natural resources, regardless of whether Kyiv manages to reach a peace deal with Russia. Ukraine sent the US its version of the agreement, but the US rejected it, accusing Ukraine of refusing to sign the agreement and calling the decision short-sighted.
At the Munich Security Conference, US representatives said that they would hold talks with the Russians in Saudi Arabia in the coming days, but Europeans were not invited.
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