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U.S., Russia’s top diplomats met in Saudi Arabia

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday ahead of negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. According to Ukrinform, CNN reported on the meeting. Among other American officials present at the talks in Riyadh were U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff. On the Russian side, Putin’s aide Yuriy Ushakov and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev attended the meeting. Both played a key behind-the-scenes role in a recent deal that led to the release of prisoners in the United States. Lavrov stated that the negotiations would be focused on ending the "abnormal period" in relations between the two "great powers." The discussion could also lay the groundwork for a potential meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the report noted. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that high-ranking officials from Russia and the United States met in Saudi Arabia to initiate negotiations. The agency released a short video clip of the meeting. At the beginning of the meeting, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and National Security Advisor Musaed Al Aiban joined Rubio, Lavrov, and other attendees. However, they were expected to leave early in the negotiations. According to the Current Time, the talks between the U.S. and Russian representatives in Saudi Arabia began around 9:30 Kyiv time. As previously reported, on Monday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on the upcoming U.S.-Russia negotiations in Saudi Arabia, emphasizing that Ukraine would not participate in them. Later, media reported, that the delegations of Russia and the U.S. have concluded negotiations in Saudi Arabia. They lasted 4.5 hours. Putin's aide, Yuri Ushakov, stated that the talks went "quite well," but "it is still difficult to say that Russia and the U.S. are getting closer." No specific date was agreed upon for a meeting between Putin and Trump, and it is unlikely to take place next week. The U.S. and Russia agreed at a meeting to establish negotiation groups to end the war in Ukraine, said State Department spokesperson Bruce. Specifically, they agreed to remove "irritants" in U.S.-Russia relations and begin working toward ending Russia's war in Ukraine. Read also: Paris meeting confirms Ukraine deserves ‘peace through strength’ – EU The post U.S., Russia’s top diplomats met in Saudi Arabia appeared first on Freedom.