Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who has been Putin’s foreign minister since 2004, and Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov to meet US officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss the resumption of relations and a possible cessation of hostilities in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, the 17th of February, reports Reuters.
US President Donald Trump said after talks with Putin on Wednesday that they would immediately start talks on ending the war in Ukraine and that they also discussed the Middle East, energy, the US dollar and AI.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Lavrov and Ushakov were flying to Riyadh at Putin’s request.
“Their meeting with their American counterparts is expected to take place on Tuesday, which will focus on the restoration of the entire complex of Russian-US relations,” Peskov said.
“It will also be devoted to the preparation of possible talks on the Ukrainian settlement and the organisation of a meeting between the two presidents.”
Peskov declined to comment on a Reuters report that Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, would also meet the US delegation.
He also refused to comment on whether Putin and Trump would meet face-to-face later this month in Saudi Arabia.
LAVROV SAID THERE WOULD BE NO TALK OF TERRITORIAL CONCESSIONS TO UKRAINE, ABOUT 20% OF WHOSE TERRITORY IS CONTROLLED BY RUSSIAN FORCES.
“Territorial concessions to what is now called Ukraine were made by the Soviet leadership during the formation of the USSR,” Lavrov said, before expressing disdain for Ukraine’s offer to sign a treaty that would give the US access to mineral resources.
“How should we make concessions – with the Russian people or with the rare earths?” Lavrov said.
A source briefed on Kremlin thinking said on Monday that Putin was serious about a deal, but not at any price.
Lavrov also said he saw no role for Europe at the table: “If they’re going to come up with some crafty ideas about freezing the conflict like this, and they themselves … have in mind the continuation of the war, then why invite them?”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Russian officials, along with Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.