US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia have concluded. What is the outcome?

According to the Russian leader's foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, who participated in the negotiations, they went "not bad," and Russia and the United States allegedly agreed to take into account each other's interests.

At the same time, he noted that "it is difficult to say yet" that the Russian Federation and the United States are getting closer, but this was allegedly discussed during the meeting. The delegations also had "a very serious conversation on all issues."

Ushakov also commented on Western media reports that a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin could take place in Saudi Arabia next week. In his opinion, this is unlikely to happen next week.

Separate teams of Russian and US negotiators will also begin contacts regarding Ukraine "in due course," Putin's advisor said, without specifying when this will happen.

The United States wants to stop the killings and is using its power in the world to unite countries, said US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce following the talks.

She said that President Trump is the only leader in the world who could have forced Ukraine and Russia to agree to this.

US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told Reuters that during the talks the parties agreed to establish a consultation mechanism "to eliminate irritants" in Russian-American bilateral relations in order to normalize the work of diplomatic missions.

The US and Russia should also appoint “high-level teams” to begin work on ending the war in Ukraine as soon as possible and achieving a peace that is “durable, sustainable, and acceptable to all parties.”

Among other things, they agreed to lay the foundation for future cooperation "on issues of mutual geopolitical interest, as well as historic economic and investment opportunities that will emerge as a result of a successful conclusion to the conflict in Ukraine."

Meanwhile, one of the Russian negotiators, Kirill Dmitriev, told Reuters that US and Russian officials had separately discussed economic cooperation, including global energy prices.

According to him, it is too early to talk about compromises, but both sides, he said, "have begun to listen to each other, to treat each other with respect and as equals."

More about the negotiations in Riyadh

The talks were attended by US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.

Russia is represented by the Russian President's Advisor on Foreign Policy, Yuri Ushakov, and the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov.

Earlier, media reported that the US delegation would also meet with the sanctioned head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RFPI), Kirill Dmitriev — journalists saw him on the sidelines. The director of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, who served with Putin in the Soviet KGB, was also to be involved in the talks.

The meeting was hosted by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud and National Security Adviser Musaed Bin Mohammed al-Aiban. However, a BBC reporter said they were only in the room to make welcoming statements before leaving the two delegations to begin negotiations.

Before the meeting began, both delegations sat silently and stared at the press. Rubio also ignored reporters' questions about whether the United States was leaving Ukraine aside.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he is also planning a visit to Saudi Arabia, but not for talks with the Russians. Together with his wife Olena Zelenska, he has already visited the UAE to discuss investments, economic partnerships, and a large humanitarian program. Zelenskyy is currently in Turkiye.