Russia-US talks begin in Saudi capital without traditional handshakes for press

The members of the delegations are seated around a large rectangular table. The Russian side is seated on the right and the American side on the left. From the Russian side, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov are at the negotiating table. Opposite them are three US negotiators: President Donald Trump’s national security advisor Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the US leader’s special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

Representatives of Saudi Arabia sit at the head of the table.

Representatives of the Russian and American media were simultaneously led to the meeting venue, with Russian and US journalists waiting in different parts of the building. The press entered the room when the negotiators were already seated at the table.

The meeting is being held in one of the royal family’s palaces, Diriyah in the Albasateen complex. Flags of Russia, the United States and Saudi Arabia are displayed at the entrance, and a purple carpet is laid out.

Neither Ukraine nor its EU backers are taking part in the talks. In the run-up to the meeting, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky signaled that Kiev was not invited and that it “considers any negotiations about Ukraine that are being held without Ukraine as having no results.”

The high-stakes talks became possible after a phone call between President Donald Trump and Putin last week. Following the conversation, Trump said he does not think it is “practical” for Ukraine to join NATO, adding that Kiev has very little chance of regaining territory that has become part of Russia over the past decade.