Top Russian and U.S.
authorities satisfied in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discussbilateral relations, possible options for ending the war in Ukraine and preparations for a prospective top in between U.S.
President Donald Trump and Russias Vladimir Putin.Russian state media released videos of the meeting as it began, with U.S.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff seated across from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and senior Putin assistant Yury Ushakov.Before the talks, cameras also recorded Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev as part of the Russian delegation.
Dmitriev, who was previously associated with backchannel communications with U.S.
equivalents during both Trump terms, praised the existing U.S.
administration as swift, efficient and extremely successful in an interview with CNN.Dmitriev saidlater on Tuesday he believed that development in the U.S.-Russia talks could emerge within two to three months.We have a series of proposals, which our associates are considering.
And I think that there will, perhaps, be progress in the not-so-distant future, in the next two-three months, he told state TV.The Washington Post, pointing out an anonymous Russian academic near senior diplomats, reported that the Kremlins concerns in the Saudia Arabia talks include raising some Western sanctions.
However, Dmitriev informed CNN that sanctions relief was not part of the agenda.On Monday, the Kremlin said the talks would focus mainly on bring back the full scope of U.S.-Russia relations, a point declared in the Washington Post report.
Ushakov informed state media the discussions would cover how to start settlements on Ukraine.Both Moscow and Washington have played down expectations of a development, though Trump has promoted a swift resolution to the war while Russia sees his outreach as an opportunity to gain concessions.This week, Lavrov ruled out any Russian territorial concessions to Ukraine as part of ceasefire negotiations.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv was not welcomed to the conversations in Saudia Arabia.
In a social networks post, he firmly insisted that any peace offer must consist of robust and reliable security guarantees for Ukraine.European leaders, meanwhile, fear Trump is negotiating a peace handle Russia that leaves out both Kyiv and the EU.
A group of EU leaders held emergency talks in Paris on Monday to collaborate a response to the Trump administrations quick push to directly engage with the Kremlin.In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun welcomed efforts towards peace in Ukraine however highlighted that all parties and stakeholders should participate in discussions.AFP contributed reporting.