On February 17, 2025, a special Il-96 aircraft carrying Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and presidential aide Yuri Ushakov arrived in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. The purpose of the visit was to participate in bilateral negotiations with US representatives aimed at discussing a possible settlement of the Ukrainian conflict and the restoration of Russian-American relations.

The meeting of the delegations of Russia and the United States is scheduled for February 18. According to Yuri Ushakov, the main focus will be on the issues of normalizing bilateral relations, preparing possible negotiations on settling the situation in Ukraine, and organizing a summit between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Ushakov emphasized that the negotiations will be exclusively bilateral, without the participation of representatives of Ukraine.

Earlier, on February 12, a telephone conversation took place between Presidents Putin and Trump, during which the leaders agreed on the need to begin a negotiation process to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. Following this agreement, a US delegation led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Riyadh to participate in the upcoming talks.

Ahead of the talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow had no intention of discussing any territorial concessions regarding Ukraine. He stressed that the issue of handing over territories under Russian control was not on the agenda.

The choice of Riyadh as a venue for the talks is not accidental. Saudi Arabia was proposed by President Trump as a neutral territory that suits both sides. The press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed that this place was chosen by mutual agreement, taking into account the interests of both Moscow and Washington.

Following the meeting, Sergey Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov are expected to present a detailed report to President Putin. If necessary, the possibility of operational communication for the transmission of urgent messages is provided. However, the full report will be provided upon the delegation's return to Moscow.