The first US-Russia peace talks are set to take place on Tuesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

Speaking to reporters at a local press briefing, Peskov said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and presidential aide Yuri Ushakov are en route to Riyadh to hold talks with their US counterparts on Tuesday.

“Today, on the instructions of President [Vladimir] Putin, Foreign Minister Lavrov and presidential aide Yuri Ushakov are flying to Riyadh. It is expected that on Tuesday they will hold a meeting in Riyadh with their American counterparts, which will be devoted primarily to restoring the entire complex of Russian-American relations,” Peskov said, as reported by Russian state media TASS.

Both sides are expected to lay the groundwork to facilitate future peace talks in Riyadh.

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Washington is expected to send State Secretary Marco Rubio, Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz for the talks in Riyadh, with both Washington and Moscow ruling out Ukrainian and European participation at this stage.

However, the contrasting experiences in negotiations between the selected teams have caused some concerns.

The Riyadh talks came as a result of US President Donald Trump’s separate phone calls with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose omission of Europe and Ukraine has led to backlashes from European leaders.

Other Topics of Interest

Cybersecurity as a Bargaining Chip in Ukraine Talks – US Backs Off Russian Threats, Part 2

As ceasefire talks unfold, Washington appears to be leveraging cybersecurity and intelligence-sharing as diplomatic tools – potentially exposing Ukraine and NATO to Russian hybrid warfare.

On Feb. 12, the foreign ministers of key European nations – including Germany, France, Poland and Britain – issued a statement saying, “Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations.”

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