By Anthony Marcus for Eurasia Business News, February 22, 2025. Article no.1426.
A meeting of the heads of the foreign affairs departments of Russia and the United States may take place in the next two weeks, the negotiations will be held in a third country, said the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov to the press agency RIA Novosti.
There is an “agreement in principle” to hold consultations to work out “the entire block of so-called irritants,” the deputy head of the Russian Foreign Ministry said. According to him, the Russian side handed over to Riyadh “elements of our approach to these issues,” the United States is now considering them. Moscow is waiting for information on who will take part in the meeting from the American side.
“There is also an understanding that the round at the level of deputies will be preceded by a consultative contact of the directors of the relevant departments. And their meeting may take place in the next two weeks,” Ryabkov said.
Negotiations will be held in a third country, the specific place is being agreed, the diplomat added.
On February 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a lengthy telephone conversation with his American counterpart Donald Trump. The heads of state discussed issues related to the exchange of citizens of Russia and the United States, and discussed the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, the Kremlin reported. During the conversation, Putin also invited Trump to visit Moscow. After that, on February 18, talks were held in Riyadh between the Russian and American delegations. The Russian side was represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and presidential aide Yuri Ushakov. The American delegation included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Special Envoy for the Middle East Stephen Whitkoff.
During the meeting, the parties agreed to appoint representatives from Moscow and Washington to work in the negotiating group on Ukraine. The Russian Federation and the United States also agreed to immediately begin concrete substantive preparations for a meeting between Putin and Trump.
Paul Jouvenet, essayist and consultant in international affairs, sees the current negotiations between the United States and Russia, initiated by Donald Trump, after his return to presidency on January 21, as a rational deal between Washington and Moscow :
“Trump wants to reduce the growing influence of the BRICS on the world stage, protect the use of the dollar and above all limit the China’s challenging influence in the Asia-Pacific region. Trump understands that he needs to lower tensions with Russia to concentrate the U.S. power against the rise of China in the Asia-Pacific region and in the Artificial intelligence race. Last month Chinese engineers even broke a record in nuclear fusion. Therefore, the U.S. under Trump would end their support to Ukraine to reuse their financial and political resources against China and maintain their leadership in world affairs. Donald Trump and his close allies in Washington don’t see Europe as a priority. The ability of Washington to initiate high level talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia, to threaten other countries with high tariffs, to put aside the voices of European powers, to voice for integration of Canada and Groenland into the U.S. jurisdiction and to criticize Europe’s lack of free speech shows how powerful the United States still are in 2025, in spite of the recent challenges to their status.”
President Trump has excluded so far European leaders and Ukrainian president from the negotiations with Russia. This method raised fears he is targeting a quick agreement with Vladimir Putin that he would then impose on Kyiv. The European powers won’t be able to help Ukraine without support from U.S. airpower and missile technology.
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On February 19, Vladimir Putin announced plans to inform BRICS partners, including China, about the results of the talks in Riyadh held on February 18 between the U.S. and Russian top diplomats. The Chinese Foreign Ministry, commenting on the meeting of the delegations of Russia and the United States, stressed that Beijing supports any efforts to establish peace in Ukraine.
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© Copyright 2025 – Eurasia Business News. Article no. 1426.
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