Delegations from Russia and the United States have begun negotiations in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, Russian state media agency TASS reported on February 18.
According to Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and a member of the Russian delegation, progress in the talks could be achieved within the next two to three months.
The main focus of the meeting is expected to be restoring U.S.-Russia relations, but discussions will also touch on the situation in Ukraine, Russian reports suggest.
“The U.S. is now ready to hear Russia’s position. The Biden administration was never interested in understanding our concerns before,” Dmitriev claimed.
Russia and the United States are only at the beginning of the dialog on the issue of sanctions, Dmitriev stated.
He claimed that it is important to recognize that the sanctions have hit the U.S. more than Russia.
Russia and the United States should move to joint projects, including in the Arctic, Dmitriev added.
The U.S. wants to find out Moscow’s intentions during talks with Saudi Arabia’s Russian representatives, earlier stated U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce to Bloomberg.
She said the meeting is a way to “determine whether the Russians are serious and on the same page” with the U.S. on ending the war in Ukraine.
“I don’t think people should see this as something about the details or moving forward with any negotiations,” Bruce said, declining to say whether a productive meeting could lead to a summit between Trump and Putin.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that Ukraine will not recognize any agreements made without its participation, calling such negotiations meaningless.
-21d0b63c17f6020e4df75f6c6f9a2f4f.jpg "Ivan Khomenko")