Progress has been made: Russian Federation and the United States agree to restore the work of embassies

Already after the first meeting in four years, representatives of the Russian Federation and the United States named concrete steps to restore relations. The parties agreed to "once and for all" solve the problem of the functioning of diplomatic missions, and new ambassadors of both countries will soon be appointed. The Russian and American delegation discussed in Riyadh and the organization of the future summit of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. The parties also agreed to appoint negotiators on the Ukrainian conflict, after which bilateral consultations on this issue will be regular. According to State Department spokesman Marco Rubio, an important step forward for "lasting peace" was made. At the same time, the presence of any troops, including peacekeeping troops, from NATO countries in Ukraine is unacceptable for Russia, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized after the talks. Despite the positive results of the meeting, it is still premature to talk about a full-fledged settlement. What else the delegations came to and why Europe was out of business - in the material of "Izvestia".

What was decided at the talks between Russia and the United States in Riyadh

The first talks between the representatives of Russia and the United States since 2021 in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, lasted about 4.5 hours. The Russian delegation was represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov and the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev. From the United States were Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. presidential national security adviser Mike Waltz and Trump's special envoy for the Middle East Steve Whitkoff. Riyadh, on the other hand, acted as a mediator. It is worth noting that Lavrov and Rubio met for the first time on February 18 - before that, on the 15th, they had a telephone conversation.

The delegations discussed many issues related to the restoration of the entire set of bilateral relations and have already come to some concrete decisions. First of all, the parties agreed to solve the problem of functioning of diplomatic missions "once and for all" by restoring the staff of embassies in Moscow and Washington. And we are talking about the elimination of all diplomatic obstacles that the Biden administration has created, said Sergei Lavrov after the meeting. His vis-a-vis Marco Rubio called this step "the next stage" of the negotiation process between the two countries.

In addition, the U.S. and Russia will soon appoint new ambassadors. It is expected that from Russia it will be an experienced diplomat Alexander Darchiev. According to media reports, Washington will be represented in Moscow by Richard Norland, whose candidacy was chosen during the Biden administration. He previously served as the United States ambassador to Uzbekistan and Georgia. Washington has already sent a request to Moscow for an aggreeman (consent) to his appointment. Lynn Tracy has held the post since 2023.

Of course, the delegations discussed the organization of the upcoming summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. However, the meeting, as clarified Yuri Ushakov, is unlikely to happen already next week, although the Western media do not exclude this option. In any case, the leaders have repeatedly expressed their readiness to meet, including in a private conversation by phone on February 12. Once again, this was confirmed by Mike Waltz, advisor to the American president. Bookmakers estimate the chances of Putin and Trump meeting in the first 100 days of the US president in office at 77%, according to data from Polymarket (decentralized prediction platform).

Lavrov and Rubio also agreed to work on issues of common geopolitical interest. It is possible that the politicians also talked about problems in the field of strategic stability. As is known, the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty) ceased to be in force in 2019. And the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START-III) has been suspended. Neither side is obviously interested in escalation in this area and a new arms race. In this regard, the delegations decided to establish a consultation mechanism to eliminate "irritants" in the relations between the Russian Federation and the United States.

In general, Moscow and Washington agreed to respect each other's interests and actively promote bilateral interaction. Both sides assessed the talks positively. The Russian Foreign Minister said that the sides "listened and heard" each other, and he believes that the US has become more aware of the Russian Federation's position. "We could not imagine a better result of the negotiations," Trump's special envoy Steve Whitkoff noted.

Delegations' positions on the Ukrainian conflict

Despite the accumulated baggage of problems in U.S.-Russian relations, the world community, of course, followed the discussion of the Ukrainian issue most closely. As the White House would later state: the U.S.-Russian negotiations were the first but "monumental step" toward peace in Ukraine.

It is too early to talk about convergence of Moscow's and Washington's positions here, but the delegations at least agreed to set up negotiating groups to settle the conflict. After that, bilateral consultations will be regular. Russia will appoint its representative after the announcement of the name of the American vis-a-vis, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Almost immediately after this statement, the US revealed the name of its negotiator, it was the same Trump's special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg. He, by the way, had already headed to Kiev on the evening of February 18. Probably to convey the US position to the Ukrainian authorities and familiarize them with the US-Russian negotiation process.

The American side has already noted the seriousness with which Russia is ready to start the negotiation process to end the conflict. State Department head Marco Rubio believes that the resolution of the crisis will open the way for Russia and the United States to cooperate not only in geopolitics, but also in the economy. At the same time, the American side emphasized that only with the agreement of all parties and acceptable conditions the conflict can really be ended.

The official position of the US President is a final, not a temporary solution to the Ukrainian problem. In this, the positions of Moscow and Washington are exactly similar. Vladimir Putin has repeatedly noted that the Russian side is not satisfied with a temporary truce. The Russian president is ready to negotiate with Zelensky if necessary, but the legal aspects of his legitimacy should be taken into account, Dmitry Peskov, the Russian leader's press secretary, said the day before. Zelensky's presidential mandate expired back in May 2024.

After the talks, the US media circulated information that Russia and the United States had allegedly agreed on a three-stage peace plan, including a ceasefire, elections in Ukraine and then the signing of a final agreement. The Russian side denied this information. Although it is possible that holding elections in Ukraine could still be on the negotiating agenda.

It is Zelensky's factor that is capable of slowing down the negotiation process that started so quickly. In particular, he continues his aggressive rhetoric against Moscow and shows no signs of willingness to engage in constructive dialog. On February 18, just as Russia and the United States were negotiating, Zelensky traveled to Ankara to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. There he made it clear that he did not intend to go for "ultimatums", resenting the dialog "about Ukraine without Ukraine". Earlier, he said that he generally does not recognize the outcome of the Russian-American talks in Riyadh. As if to confirm this, Zelensky canceled his visit to Saudi Arabia, scheduled for February 19.

- Zelensky, of course, is a complicating factor; there are many reasons why he will put the brakes on any agreement. There may be attempts by the Ukrainian side to ignore US-Russian agreements altogether and rely on the support of the US European allies, but the question arises whether they can completely replace the United States as the main donor of military and economic aid to Kiev," Andrei Kortunov, research director of the Russian Council on Foreign Affairs, told Izvestia.

Curiously, the Turkish position after the meeting with Zelensky is unambiguous - it correlates with Trump's initiative to resolve the conflict. By the way, Erdogan called Turkey an ideal place for talks between Putin and Trump. Another venerable player on the international arena also spoke out - the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that they see the growing impetus for dialog and are in favor of a political settlement of the conflict.

However, Europe's role in the Ukrainian settlement is not entirely clear - so far, it has been left out of the picture. Although in general, the American side does not rule out that the EU countries should join this process later, as they have imposed sanctions against Moscow. The Russian Federation does not share such a position. The role of the EU in the upcoming negotiations on Ukraine is excluded, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said. In his opinion, nothing now indicates a possible breakthrough in Russian-European relations. Europe continues to insist on its role in the settlement. The FRG Foreign Ministry believes that negotiations without the participation of Kiev's allies are meaningless. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed his readiness to deploy British troops in Ukraine the day before. The Russian side considers the deployment of any contingents from NATO countries on the territory of the neighboring country unacceptable. At the same time, Moscow is not against Ukraine's accession to the European Union, as this is Kiev's sovereign right, and the EU is not a military alliance.

- Europe is very sensitive to this issue because since 2022, European leaders have fully supported the war that Biden wanted to wage against Russia. And from this point of view now they have been caught off guard, they have lost all their bearings and don't understand the new policies that are being pursued. Whatever one thinks of Trump, I believe we can recognize that he is sincere in his desire for peace at any cost. Most Europeans want the conflict to continue. That is why we are witnessing the political collapse of the European Union in a way that we have not seen since its creation," Emmanuel Leroy, a French political scientist and president of the Institute for the History of Franco-Russian Relations, told Izvestia.

The Russian Federation has always said and continues to insist that what is happening is not so much a conflict between Russia and Ukraine as a conflict between Russia and the West, Andrey Kortunov believes. Accordingly, its settlement presupposes not only the achievement of a peace agreement with Kiev, but also an agreement on at least the basic contours of a new system of European security.

Economic relations between Russia and the United States

Undoubtedly, the parties discussed a large and important set of problems in Russian-American relations, but the economic aspect attracted special attention. It was no accident that Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, was one of the members of the negotiating group. The parties came to the conclusion that the resolution of the Ukrainian issue could lead to the restoration of normal economic ties.

In the run-up to the talks, Dmitriev noted that American business lost about $300 billion after leaving the Russian market. Against this background, the U.S. Treasury Department, according to Western media reports citing U.S. officials, is already developing a list of about 20 Russian banks that will be reconnected to the SWIFT system and will be allowed to conduct a full range of transactions. The return of Visa and Mastercard to Russia and even Western brands that left Russia after the start of SWO is possible. They will be able to enter the country on a competitive basis, and this competition would be in the interests of consumers, Dmitry Peskov noted. By the way, Marco Rubio noted that if the Ukrainian conflict is resolved, the West will probably have to lift sanctions.

- Dmitriev's presence confirms that the American side has a serious attitude - after all, the United States derives economic benefits from any deal. This, of course, is taken into account in Moscow. American brands were not as well represented as European brands, but it cannot be said that the presence of US business in the Russian market was completely unnoticeable," said Andrei Kortunov.

The prospects of economic relations are primarily tied to the sanctions regime. And the restrictions imposed are heterogeneous: something can be canceled after Trump's decision, something has already taken the form of a law, somewhere we will have to consult with American partners and allies, summarized the expert.