Russia and US Delegations to Meet Today in Riyadh for Second Round of Talks, Die Zeit Reports

Senior diplomats from the U.S. and Russia are set to meet in Riyadh today for a second round of talks, according to Die Zeit, which cited diplomatic sources on February 25.

While the participants have not been officially disclosed, the meeting follows initial discussions held in the Saudi capital on February 18, where Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov led Moscow’s delegation, while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio represented Washington. That encounter marked the highest-level meeting between the two countries since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The latest talks come just one day after French President Emmanuel Macron met with Donald Trump in Washington, where the U.S. President suggested that a ceasefire in Ukraine could be reached within weeks.

Back on February 18, senior U.S. and Russian diplomats held a closed-door meeting in Riyadh, with discussions focusing on restoring diplomatic ties and exploring paths to end the war in Ukraine.

After the meeting, Rubio confirmed that the two sides had reached agreements on four key principles:

1. Restoring embassy staffing levels in Washington and Moscow to facilitate diplomatic channels for future peace talks.

2. Appointing a high-level negotiating team to work on ending the war in Ukraine.

3. Initiating discussions on post-war geopolitical and economic cooperation.

4. Continuing active participation in negotiations.

According to Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and a member of Russia’s delegation, progress in the talks could be achieved within two to three months.

Earlier, Russian leader Vladimir Putin stated that while Russia does not oppose Ukraine maintaining its sovereignty, it firmly insists that Ukrainian territory must not be used as a military platform against Moscow.

“Russia has nothing against Ukraine’s statehood, but its territory must not be used as a hostile staging ground against us,” Putin said.