"I rate the negotiations highly, there is a result"

Russia is ready to return to the negotiating table on Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said following a meeting of the Russian and US delegations in Riyadh. The USA is open to this process without any bias and condemnation of what was done in the past, he noted. At the same time, the Russian leader emphasized that the future settlement would take place with the participation of Kiev. Ukraine has so far shown no signs of readiness for a constructive dialog. Vladimir Zelensky accused the US administration of "helping Putin to get out of isolation". In response, Donald Trump said: the Ukrainian president has done a "terrible job" - his country is destroyed and millions of people died in vain. The talks between Moscow and Washington are taking place against the backdrop of the Russian army's successes. The President said that Russian troops are advancing along the entire line of contact, in Kursk region they have already crossed the border and entered the territory of the enemy.

Russia-U.S. negotiation process

Moscow is ready to return to the negotiating table on Ukraine, Vladimir Putin said after a meeting of the Russian and US delegations in the Saudi capital on February 18. At the same time, he emphasized that the future settlement process would be held with Kiev's participation. According to the president, no one excludes Ukraine from this process. He recalled that Kiev, in its turn, had banned dialog with Moscow at the legislative level. In fact, the Europeans did the same thing, having independently restricted contacts with the Russian side.

- As for the negotiation process, President Trump told me during a telephone conversation, I can confirm it, that, of course, the United States assumes that the negotiation process will take place with the participation of both Russia and Ukraine," Vladimir Putin said in a conversation with journalists on February 19 in St. Petersburg.

Russia is confident that negotiations with the United States are a very important step for the future settlement of the conflict in Eastern Europe. The mood in the White House is similar - the talks between the two powers were a first but "monumental step" toward peace in Ukraine.

- As our participants told me, there were very different people on the American side who were open to the negotiation process without any bias, without any condemnation of what had been done in the past, at least in bilateral contacts there was none of that, but who were determined to work together, open to working together," Putin said.

The delegations agreed to appoint special negotiators to settle the conflict. Moscow will appoint such a person after the U.S. side presents its own. It is possible that Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation at talks with Kiev in Belarus and Turkey in 2022, will take part in the negotiations.

The conversation between Russian and US representatives in Saudi Arabia was very benevolent, Vladimir Putin said. "I assess them (negotiations. - Ed.) highly, there is a result," he said, noting that their goal was to increase trust between the parties.

The President noted: Russia and the U.S. agreed to resume the work of diplomatic agencies "in normal mode". This is about the elimination of all diplomatic obstacles that the Joe Biden administration had set up, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the previous day. His American counterpart Marco Rubio called this step "the next stage" of the negotiation process between the two countries. It is likely that the consular section of the U.S. embassy will be fully operational again after the number of staff members is restored. This could mean the resumption of visa issuance.

Speaking at the government hour in the State Duma on February 19, Sergei Lavrov stated that the movement toward normalization of relations between Russia and the United States has begun, and in order to create conditions for increased partnership in trade and politics, it is necessary to "clean up Biden's legacy." He noted that the national interests of Moscow and Washington will never fully coincide, but divergent interests should not lead to confrontation.

The Russian and US presidents may hold a bilateral meeting in the coming weeks, with the final date still unclear. The Kremlin emphasizes that a face-to-face contact between Putin and Trump "will require certain preparations along the lines of the Foreign Ministry."

- Working interdepartmental groups will be created in the main areas, which will deal already with specific issues of bottlenecks and restoration of relations. If we talk about the diplomatic dimension, it's not just a question of returning diplomats - we also need to return property, not only embassy property, but also consular property, to restore the work of this network, which both we and they have practically ceased to exist. Some things can be done quickly, for example, giving our ambassador an agreeman and appointing an American ambassador to Moscow. But some decisions will require legal elaboration," Andrei Kortunov, research director of the Russian International Affairs Council, told Izvestia.

The dialog between the Russian Federation and the United States is taking place against the backdrop of the successful advance of Russian forces in the NWO zone. The Russian president said that our troops are advancing along the entire line of contact, including in the Kursk region.

- The latest information that was reported to me just an hour ago: tonight the soldiers of the 810th Brigade crossed the border between Russia and Ukraine and entered the territory of the enemy, - said Vladimir Putin.

This fact is extremely important for strengthening Russia's negotiating positions, Denis Denisov, a political scientist, director of the Institute of Peacekeeping Initiatives and Conflict Studies and an expert of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, said.

- Ukraine and Western countries have repeatedly stated that the part of Kursk Region that was seized by the Ukrainian military could become an important element of the exchange - for new Russian territories. Now this factor is leveled out," the expert stated in a conversation with Izvestia. - We see the continuation of Russia's offensive on the battlefield. With the resumption of dialog with the United States, there is every reason to believe that the position of the collective West will change dramatically. It will definitely not be unified now.

The rift between Washington and Kiev

The Russia-U.S. talks are increasingly irritating Kiev and are likely to intensify the rift between the two sides. Vladimir Zelensky said even before they began that he did not recognize the outcome of the meeting between representatives of Moscow and Washington. He even accused the American leader that the US "helped Putin to get out of years of isolation". In response, Trump posted a harsh post on social media in which he called him a "dictator without elections."

"He refuses to hold elections, his ratings in Ukrainian polls are very low, and the only thing he excels at is "playing" Biden like a fiddle. A dictator without an election, Zelensky better hurry up or he won't have a country left," Trump said.

The American president noted that the US is meanwhile successfully negotiating with Russian Federation to end the conflict, "which everyone thinks only Trump and the Trump administration can do."

"Biden didn't even try, Europe failed to bring peace, and Zelensky probably wants the "financial flow" to continue. I love Ukraine, but Zelensky has done a terrible job, his country has been destroyed and millions have died in vain, and it all continues," Donald Trump said.

Top US officials first said that Zelensky wants to continue the conflict with Russia for financial gain. At the same time, Trump says the states have spent $200 billion more than Europe, "with European money guaranteed and the U.S. getting nothing in return."

Ukraine fears that Russia and the US may exclude it from the negotiation process. However, Washington has repeatedly emphasized that Kiev will join the dialog, but at a later date. By the way, on February 19, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg arrived in its capital for a visit. It is very likely that the purpose of the trip is to familiarize the Ukrainian authorities with the current US position and to listen to colleagues. Earlier, Kellogg said that America will not impose on Kiev the terms of the peace agreement that the Trump team will negotiate with Russia. He emphasized that his task is to facilitate the conclusion of agreements that would imply the formation of security guarantees for Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Kiev continues to hope for European military assistance in case Washington finally withdraws its support. This, by the way, calls into question the involvement of representatives of London and Brussels in the negotiations. The Europeans continue to adhere to military rhetoric and are even studying the issue of sending their armed forces to Ukraine. Russia's position is unambiguous: any presence of NATO troops there is unacceptable to Moscow. Trump, on the other hand, is not against the deployment of European contingents in Ukraine.

- To build a system of European security without Europeans would be at least strange. We can argue at what stage, in what format and on what terms we should involve new participants in the negotiation process, because everyone realizes that any new participant is an additional burden. He comes with his own views, interests and priorities and, of course, inevitably slows down the process of reaching an agreement," says Andrei Kortunov.

One way or another, Russian-American contacts will represent the basis of the entire negotiation process, the expert summarized.