Rubio-Lavrov Meet in Riyadh, New Russian Demands Emerge

RIYADH, TUESDAY – United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, each accompanied by other senior officials, held a meeting at Diriyah Palace, Albasateen complex, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday (18/2/2025). In addition to discussing the improvement of US-Russia relations, Rubio and Lavrov negotiated ways to stop the Ukraine-Russia war.

During their meeting in Riyadh, Moscow put forward new demands in the Ukraine-Russia peace negotiations, namely an official statement from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to revoke the promise given to Ukraine in 2008 to join the military alliance.

The new demand was conveyed by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova to reporters in Moscow, Russia, a few hours after the meeting in Riyadh began. She stated that it is not enough for NATO to not accept Ukraine as a member.

Zakharova emphasized that NATO must do more by canceling the promise made at the Bucharest Summit in 2008 that Kyiv could one day join NATO. "If this is not done, this issue will continue to poison the atmosphere on the European continent," she said.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Putin has repeatedly expressed his readiness to negotiate peace. However, he added, Putin also noted that a "comprehensive agreement, a long-term agreement, a lasting agreement" in the conflict in Ukraine is not possible without giving "comprehensive attention to security issues" in Europe.

There has been no response from NATO member states or the US regarding Russia's new demands.

The meeting between Rubio and Lavrov in Riyadh was the first meeting of US-Russian officials, held less than a month after Donald Trump was inaugurated as the US president and six days after he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone. The Kremlin mentioned that the meeting in Riyadh could potentially be the starting point for a meeting between Trump and Putin.

The meeting between Rubio and Lavrov and other senior officials from both countries lasted more than four hours. Kremlin Foreign Affairs Adviser Yury Ushakov, a member of the Russian delegation, told Russian news agency Interfax after the meeting that preparations for the Trump-Putin meeting were discussed, among other things.

However, the meeting between the two leaders is not expected to be held next week. As quoted by Russian television, Channel 1, there is no definite schedule for the Trump-Putin meeting. "The delegations of both countries need to work together more closely. We are ready for this, but it is still difficult to talk about the exact date for the meeting of the two leaders," Ushakov said.

Peskov told reporters on Monday (2/17/2025) that the meeting was mainly focused on "the overall improvement of broad relations between the US and Russia, as well as preparations for possible negotiations on an agreement on Ukraine and holding a meeting of the two presidents".

Meanwhile, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the meeting was aimed at seeing how serious Russia was about wanting peace and seeing whether more detailed negotiations could begin.

No Ukrainian officials were invited to the Riyadh meeting. Like European officials and leaders, Kyiv watched from afar. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week that no peace deal was made in his country's name.

Bruce said that while Ukraine was not invited to Tuesday's meeting, any real peace talks would involve it. The White House also dismissed suggestions that the U.S. was not engaging Europe, saying U.S. officials had spoken about Ukraine with European officials.

Russian news agency TASS reported that there were no preliminary statements or handshakes when reporters were allowed into the room before the talks began.

Rubio was accompanied by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff. Lavrov was accompanied by Kremlin Foreign Affairs Advisor Yury Ushakov. Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev was also present.

They sat facing each other, separated by a rectangular table. At the end of the table were Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Saudi National Security Advisor Mosaad bin Mohammad al-Aiban. Behind them were three flags (the US, Saudi Arabia, and Russia).

Prince Faisal and Musaed are expected to leave the meeting room first, given that it is a bilateral US-Russian meeting.

When given the chance to enter the meeting room, reporters shouted questions, such as whether the US was marginalizing Ukraine and what concessions Washington was asking of Moscow. Neither US nor Russian officials in the room answered the questions.

Before the meeting, Dmitriev made a statement to reporters. “We have a very important track in the economic field,” he told Russian state television.

"We have a series of proposals that our (US) colleagues are considering. And, I think, there will probably be progress in the near future, two or three months," Dmitriev added.

"We cannot disclose the details... And, of course, there are political issues. I do not deal with political issues, but I deal with investment and economic issues," he was quoted as saying by TASS.

Dmitriev stressed the importance of the meeting in Riyadh. "Good US-Russian relations are very important for the whole world. Only through cooperation can Russia and the US address many world problems, resolve global conflicts and offer solutions," he told the Associated Press news agency.

Quoting the Russian delegation, Saudi Arabian television Al Arabiya described Moscow's priority in the meeting as "real normalization with Washington." As quoted by The New York Times, Ushakov told reporters after landing in Riyadh that the goal of the meeting in Riyadh for Russia was "to start real normalization in relations between us and Washington."

(AP/AFP/Reuters)