U.S. and Russian officials have started a high-level meeting on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia.
The U.S. side has stated that today’s meeting is not about starting negotiations but about assessing whether Russia is “serious” about ending the war in Ukraine, reports REL.
On the other hand, the Russian side has stated that the priority will be normalizing relations with the U.S.
The U.S. delegation consists of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Wikoff.
Russia is represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Yury Ushakov, foreign policy advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The February 18 meeting in Riyadh comes after the intensification of Washington’s efforts to end the nearly three-year war in Ukraine, although tactics have shaken diplomatic circles in Kyiv and Europe, as there is uncertainty about the kind of agreement that might be reached in the future to end the war.
“This is intended to be the first step in a long negotiation process, but things are moving quickly,” said Nigel Gould-Davies, a former British diplomat who is now a senior researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, in some comments to Radio Free Europe.
“There is a flow that will continue to advance during these times of uncertainty.”
