Russia, US hold ‘complex but useful' talks in Riyadh on Ukraine, says official

Russian and US delegations held a “detailed and complex but quite useful” meeting in Riyadh on Monday, focusing on the Ukraine conflict and security issues, Grigory Karasin, the co-head of the Russian delegations, said Tuesday.

The high-level talks lasted over 12 hours, marking one of the longest discussions between the two sides since their diplomatic dialogue resumed in February.

Karasin described the talks as constructive, emphasizing that they covered multiple issues. “The dialogue was detailed and complex but quite useful for both us and the Americans,” he told Russian media, according to the Russian state news agency TASS​​​​​​​.

"Many problems were discussed. Of course, not everything was resolved, not everything was agreed upon, but the fact that such a conversation took place, it seems to me, is very timely given the arrival of the new administration and the new politicians who came to the meeting of expert groups," he said.

A source from the Russian delegation told reporters that both sides had coordinated a joint statement, expected to be released by the Kremlin and the White House on Tuesday.

The Russian delegation included Sergey Beseda, an advisor to the director of the Federal Security Service, while the US side was represented by Michael Anton, the director of the State Department's policy planning staff, Andrew Peek from the White House National Security Council, aides to US President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.

Ahead of the talks, Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov had stated that discussions would also address the potential revival of the Black Sea grain initiative, following a recent phone conversation between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.