High-stakes talks between the United States and Russia have commenced at Al-Diriyah Palace in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, under Saudi mediation aimed at improving relations between the two nations and fostering global security and stability. The discussions are being attended by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and National Security Advisor Musaad Al-Aiban, as part of the Kingdom's ongoing efforts to bridge differences between Washington and Moscow. Footage showed Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Musaad Al-Aiban seated at the center of a negotiation table, flanked by senior US and Russian officials. Representing the US side are Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. On the Russian side, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Kremlin diplomatic adviser Yuri Ushakov are leading the delegation. The talks are expected to lay the groundwork for an upcoming summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Ahead of the negotiations, Russian sovereign wealth fund chief Kirill Dmitriev praised Trump's leadership, describing him as a "problem solver." "We truly believe that President Trump and his team are capable of resolving challenges. They have already tackled numerous major crises with remarkable speed, efficiency, and success," Dmitriev told reporters in Riyadh. Dmitriev also highlighted the economic impact of US sanctions on Russia, noting that "American companies have lost nearly $300 billion due to their exit from Russia. The current situation has caused significant economic losses for many countries." The ongoing talks in Riyadh mark a significant diplomatic effort to ease tensions and explore potential solutions for US-Russia relations, with Saudi Arabia playing a key role in facilitating dialogue between the two global powers. The meeting comes as US President Donald Trump upended years of foreign policy towards Russia by holding a phone call with Putin last Wednesday and declaring that both had agreed to start negotiations immediately. A whirlwind week of speeches by US officials followed, in which it emerged that Washington was seemingly uninterested in Ukraine's core demands for peace — including its long-held NATO ambitions — and that European leaders would not immediately have a seat at the negotiating table. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Kyiv would not recognize any peace agreement made without its participation. "We cannot recognize... any agreements about us without us," Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine was not made aware of the talks in Riyadh. Kremlin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the meeting would be devoted to the "preparation of possible negotiations on the Ukrainian settlement and the organization of a meeting between the two presidents." On Monday, Lavrov said Moscow would hear out its US colleagues in comments cited by Tass news agency, but added that Europe had "no place at the negotiating table." He also said Russia had no intention of making territorial concessions to Ukraine during the peace talks, a likely sticking point between Putin and Zelensky. Kyiv has insisted that any peace deal would include the full withdrawal of Russian troops from areas Moscow has seized during the invasion, as well as the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea — which Moscow annexed in 2014 — and the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Zelensky said he would also be traveling to Saudi Arabia in a video briefing on Monday, although he stressed that his visit was not linked to Russia-US peace talks. Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy to Ukraine, is also set to visit Zelensky in Kyiv on Thursday. In response to fast-moving negotiations that seemed to be taking place without Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron convened an emergency meeting in Paris on Monday with other European leaders. After the meeting, they vowed to continue supporting Ukraine but failed to provide concrete security guarantees, including a potential idea to send peacekeeping troops to the front line. — Agencies with input from SG
