On February 18, 2025, bilateral negotiations between delegations of the Russian Federation and the United States of America began in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the normalization of relations between the two countries and to find ways to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

The Russian delegation is headed by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and presidential aide Yuri Ushakov. The American side is represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Special Envoy for the Middle East Steven Witkoff. The talks are taking place at the palace of the Saudi royal family.

According to Bloomberg, the talks include the possibility of holding a summit between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump as early as next week. Sources say the leaders could meet before the end of February, before the holy month of Ramadan in March. However, Kremlin officials have refrained from confirming specific dates until the current talks are concluded.

The US State Department press secretary noted that the current meeting in Riyadh is intended to determine the seriousness of the Russian side's intentions and to find out whether the positions of Moscow and Washington coincide on the issue of ending hostilities in Ukraine.

After the 4,5-hour talks, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said the meeting had gone "not badly," but expressed doubts about the possibility of organizing a meeting between Putin and Trump as early as next week. He stressed that the parties had agreed to work on advancing bilateral relations and respecting each other's interests, but noted that it was difficult to talk about a rapprochement between Russia and the United States.

Ushakov also reported that separate teams of Russian and US negotiators will begin contacts on the Ukrainian issue in due course and the decision to begin such negotiations will be made by President Putin.