A Russian delegation led by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has arrived in Saudi Arabia where Lavrov will meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later on Tuesday.
“The most important thing is to achieve a real normalization of relations between us and Washington,” Yuri Ushakov, President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy adviser, told Russian state television when the delegation arrived at Riyadh airport on Monday evening.
Ushakov would not comment on the negotiating positions.
The war in Ukraine is expected to be a major topic of the talks after US President Donald Trump spoke to Putin by phone last week and said the two leaders agreed to start negotiations to end the conflict “immediately.”
Rubio, who is bringing a top-heavy American delegation, arrived in Riyadh earlier Monday.
Lavrov is widely recognized as a tough negotiator. He has a reputation for being a skilled and experienced diplomat who is not easily swayed and has been involved in numerous high-stakes negotiations.
For example, Lavrov recently ruled out any territorial concessions to Ukraine, setting a tough opening stance ahead of these talks with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia. He has also been known to criticize European leaders, accusing them of wanting to continue the war in Ukraine.
Several European leaders are ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine
European leaders agreed at a meeting in Paris on Monday that they are ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine. However, they warned that it would be unsafe to conclude a ceasefire without a peace agreement in place, Reuters news agency reports.
“We are ready to provide security guarantees, but the details need to be discussed with each party, depending on how much support the United States provides,” an official said after the meeting in Paris on Monday.
Did you read our feature from the UK talks on Ukraine in Paris? Full story here from the Famagusta Gazette>>>