Russian President Vladimir Putin has dispatched high-ranking officials to Saudi Arabia for a meeting with a US delegation, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov, announced. The Russian delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov, the president’s special advisor for international affairs and is scheduled to take place in Riyadh on February 18.
The meeting is expected to cover a range of topics, including the rebuilding of relations between the two nations, potential peace talks in the Ukraine conflict and the organization of a summit between Putin and US President Donald Trump. The Russian delegation will provide a detailed report on the discussions after their return to Moscow.
Riyadh was chosen as the meeting site due to its geographical proximity to both the US and Russia, Peskov added.
US President Donald Trump had previously announced the organization of a summit in Riyadh, featuring high-ranking representatives from the US, Russia and Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, has scheduled visits to the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, focusing on humanitarian issues and not planning to meet with Russia or the US.
Speculation had initially surrounded the possibility of talks in Saudi Arabia following the phone call between Putin and Trump on the previous Wednesday. The US may send Foreign Minister Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff to the meeting.