The US talks with Russia are under way in Saudi Arabis at Riyadh’s Diriyah Palace, which is being led by the Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Moke Waltz on behalf of President Trump.
Also at that meeting is the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov.
The Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al Saud and National Security Advisor Mosaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban.
The head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund Kirill Dmitriev said on Tuesday that Moscow hopes the US will “hear its position” on Ukraine as peace talks start in Saudi Arabia.
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Lavrov will hold talks with senior US officials including Rubio and they will focus on ending the war and want to restore “the whole complex” of Russia and US ties, Reuters reports.
Dmitriev said, “We really see that President Trump and his team is a team of problem solvers, people who have already addressed a number of big challenges very swiftly, very efficiently and very successfully.”
Dmitriev is a US educated former Golman Sachs banker and he played a role during the US President Donald Trump’s early contacts between Moscow and Washington from 2016 to 2020.
Dmitriev said, “It’s very important to understand that U.S. businesses lost around $300 billion from leaving Russia.
“So there is huge economic toll on many countries from you know what’s happening right now, and we believe as a way forward is through solutions.”
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned the Trump administration against a hastily negotiated peace deal, as Ukraine will never accept a deal without being involved.
Zelensky told German media network ARD, “Everything that Russia and the U.S. can agree on – if they even want to agree on something – concerns their bilateral relations.
“They certainly cannot negotiate about our people and our lives. About an end to the war without us.”
President Zelensky said during a press conference in the UAE, “Ukraine knew nothing about it. And Ukraine considers any negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine (as such) to be futile.”
The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday there will be “no thought” of any territorial concessions to Ukraine.
Reuters reported that Lavrov said, “Territorial concessions to what is now called Ukraine were made by the Soviet leadership during the formation of the USSR.”
