Russian President Vladimir Putin sent conflicting negotiators to Saudi Arabia for talks with the United States.

Axar.az reports according to Russian "Agency" website, before the negotiations in Riyadh, Putin told Sergei Lavrov that the Russian delegation would consist of two people — the foreign minister himself and Yuri Ushakov. However, after this, Kirill Dmitriev, who is connected to the president’s family and heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) met with Putin and asked him to participate in the negotiations. Putin agreed but did not inform Lavrov about it.

Lavrov was greatly surprised when he saw three chairs from the Russian side in the negotiation room. According to the source, when the minister was told that the third seat was for Dmitriev, he pushed the chair away from the table, saying: 'If he wants to participate, let Vladimir Vladimirovich tell me himself.' After that, Dmitriev left the room and went into the corridor to speak with journalists.

Dmitriev eventually managed to sit at the negotiation table. During one of the technical breaks, Lavrov left the room, and when he returned, he saw Dmitriev already at the table, the source said. 'The Americans were also returning, and it was awkward for [Lavrov] to argue. Dmitriev asked, "I need to sit for at least 15 minutes,"' the source recounts the conversation.