February 19, 2025

First practical initial step down this road

A limited number of top Russian and US diplomats met in Saudi Arabia on February 18, 2025 on a very short meeting that lasted for nearly 4,5 hours.

Major topics

The main topics of the meeting were to explore some key items in the bilateral agenda, including ways to restore diplomatic ties, including the appointment of the respective Ambassadors to their respective capitals, to return diplomatic assets originally seized by the USA in the CONUS, and to lay the groundwork for a potential Summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump.

Both delegations have examined the ways to stop the war unleashed by Ukraine, and advance efforts toward resolving the Ukraine conflict, initiated by Kiev in April 2014 against Donbass, and in September 2022 against Russia.

As a part of the agreement to initiate the Ukraine conflict settlement process, Russia will appoint its representative to consider the issue once it receives confirmation of Washington’s designated chief negotiator.

Key participants

Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, led the Russian political delegation, which also included Yury Ushakov, Putin’s top foreign policy aide. Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), also took part in the separate economic negotiation process with his American counterparts in a separate room.

The American side was represented by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and Steve Witkoff, Washington’s special envoy for the Middle East.

The meeting in Saudi Arabia was exclusively bilateral gathering of the Russian and American teams during last three years. That is why neither Ukraine nor the EU have been asked to participate in the meeting.

Two high-ranking Saudi officials have been present at the political part of the talks for protocol reasons as representatives of the country who offered their territory for such sensitive talks.

Main results

The sides practically agreed that the issue of diplomatic missions must be resolved once and for all.  This step will include addressing the sanctions imposed in recent years, the expulsion of diplomats, the seizure of diplomatic properties, and other obstacles that have complicated work. Their respective representatives are planned to meet again to discuss the removal of these artificial barriers and ensure the smooth functioning of Embassies and Consulates in both countries.

Moscow made it clear that it considers any NATO-linked military presence – whether under the EU flag or as part of national contingents – completely unacceptable, according to Moscow.

Moscow and Washington have agreed that “when national interests coincide, efforts must be united and implemented” in relevant areas through “mutually beneficial projects” in both geopolitical and economic spheres. However, when interests do not align, the two sides should not provoke a conflict but rather work to resolve the existing issues. Russian team emphasized that NATO expansion and the absorption of Ukraine into the military bloc would pose a direct threat to Russia’s interests and sovereignty.

Though no specific dates and timelines have been set up for the Summit, the two teams agreed to work on its preparation.

Several joint working groups have been established to ameliorate the situation in each respective domain included into the agenda of the talks.

Russia and the USA have agreed to establish a framework for ending the Ukraine conflict in the near future.

Assessment of the meeting

Both sides on very high political level have assessed the talks as very positive and promising.

They noted that the mood at the meeting was businesslike and constructive.

Both sides have clearly stated that they would like to continue to restore their bilateral relations ruined by previous Democratic Party Administration.

President Vladimir Putin has commented on the results of the recent meeting between representatives of Moscow and Washington in Riyadh, assessing it in the positive way. He confirmed that Russia was ready to resume talks on conflict resolution with Ukraine.

Moscow has never shut the door on peace negotiations over Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said on February 19, 2025 after being briefed on the results of the meeting between Russian and US representatives in Riyadh. It was the EU and Kiev that broke all contact with Russia, he added. No one is excluding Kiev from the negotiation process, according to the Russian president. Both Moscow and Washington expect Ukraine to take part, Putin said, adding that it is largely up to Ukraine and the EU to decide whether they want to be part of the talks or not.

Resolving the Ukraine conflict would be impossible without the normalization of relations between Moscow and Washington, Putin noted. The meeting was primarily aimed at “increasing trust” between the two nations, he announced.

The atmosphere of the talks was “very friendly,” Putin underlined, adding that the USA is represented by “absolutely different people, who are open for talks without any prejudices… and committed to joint work.”

President Donald Trump called the talks in Saudi Arabia “very good” and confessed that he felt “much more confident” after the US-Russia meeting about the prospects of a lasting peace and reiterated that his immediate goal is to “save lives.” “I think I have the power to end this war, and I think it’s going very well.”

Trump noted that he remained optimistic about brokering a peace deal and criticized Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky who had a chance to make a better deal with Moscow three years ago. The US president described Zelensky as deeply unpopular at home. “The leader in Ukraine – I hate to say it – but he’s down at a 4 percent approval rating,” Trump claimed.

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump could meet by the end of February, 2025, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. He cautioned, however, that the arrangements for a meeting may take longer.  It is true if some declarations or agreements are to be prepared beforehand.

Kiev’s response: frustration and unwise resistance

Ex-president Zelensky who has lost his presidential authority last May has displayed anger and frustration over the talks in Saudi Arabia.

He refused to sign the draft US-Ukrainian accord on offering rare earth minerals to the USA who has shared various kind of assistance to Ukraine amounting, as President Donald Trump has announced, reached US $ 500 billion for the last three years.

He threatened not to leave his former position as the head of state if Ukraine will not become a full-fledged member of the EU and NATO.

He has warned that he would not recognize the results of any kind of Russo-US negotiations.

He ordered to attack Russian Voronezh, Smolensk, Kursk and Zaporozhye Nuclear Powers Plants. Recently, he instructed to hit Ukrainian Chernobyl NPP to influence extra-war mood in the EU and beg additional money he wishes not to return to Europeans.

On February 17, 2025 seven Ukrainian drone severely damaged the critical components of the oil infrastructure located in southern Russia and operated by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which is partly controlled by US and EU companies. The attacked pumping station is located in Krasnodar Region, 230 km from the port city of Novorossiysk. Most of the crude pumped by the conglomerate’s pipeline system comes from oil fields in West Kazakhstan.

    Currently, a number of US companies like American giants Chevron and Exxon Mobil control around 40 percent oil supplies shipped via the pipeline.

   The attack has prompted its operators to resort to a reserve pumping scheme and slash its capacity by 30-40 percent. The Western CPC shareholders are taking part in the damage assessment.

Repairing the facility could take quite a long time.

No doubt that Kiev should pay back reasonable compensation to the US and European contractors for the damaged infrastructure.

Donald Trump has labeled Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky a “dictator without elections,” accusing him of mismanaging the conflict with Russia and misusing American financial aid.

Posting on his Truth Social platform on February 19, Trump criticized Zelensky, stating that the Ukrainian leader had “talked the United States of America into spending US $350 billion, to go into a war that couldn't be won.” He further claimed that Zelensky “refuses to have elections, is very low in Ukrainian polls.” 
“A dictator without elections, Zelenskyy better moves fast or he is not going to have a country left,” Trump warned.

Written by Vladimir P. Kozin