The Kingdom hosted talks between senior US and Russian officials yesterday, as part of its “efforts to promote global peace and security,” according to a post on X from the Foreign Ministry. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Lavrov yesterday in Riyadh to discuss enhancing ties between Saudi and Russia, state news agency SPA reports. The Crown Prince also met with Rubio on Monday, ahead of yesterday’s talks.

The two sides agreed to resolve bilateral issues and chart a way towards normalizing their diplomatic missions, while also committing to setting up “high-level teams” to work on a path to ending the Ukraine war “in a way that is enduring, sustainable, and acceptable to all sides,” according to a statement from the US Department of State. They also agreed to explore future cooperation on geopolitical, economic, and investment opportunities emerging from a successful resolution to the war, the statement added.

Who was there? The US delegation was led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was joined by Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and White House Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff. Meanwhile, the Russian side was headed by FM Sergei Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, as well as Russia’s sovereign wealth fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev.

What about Europe? The EU, notably absent from the talks, is set to join the table “at some point” to iron out details related to sanctions imposed on Russia due to the war, Rubio said.

Ukraine is not on board: “Nobody decides anything behind our back,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a press conference after the US-Russia meeting was concluded. Zelensky, who was due in Saudi today for a separate trip, postponed his visit to the Kingdom in a move to avoid “any coincidences.” Zelenskiy had expressed his displeasure at not being invited to yesterday’s talks and stated that Ukraine will not recognize any settlements reached without its involvement.

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