12:10

Talks between US and Russian officials have started in Riyadh.

Axar.az reports that citing AP, the top diplomats from Russia and the U.S. met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to begin talks on improving ties and negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat down with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Diriyah Palace in Riyadh. The meeting marks another pivotal step by the Trump administration to reverse U.S. policy on isolating Russia and is meant to pave the way for a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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High-level talks of the Russian and US delegations have concluded in Riyadh.

The meeting lasted about 4.5 hours. After about two hours and a half, the sides took a 15-minute break, and after an additional hour passed, the participants left for lunch.

Talks in Riyadh between top diplomats from Russia and the United States were “positive,” Kirill Dmitriev,the part of Moscow’s negotiating team in Saudi Arabia.

Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and special envoy for the Middle East Stephen Witkoff were participating in the negotiations.

The talks were held in one of the royal family's palaces - Al Diriyah in the Albasateen complex.