The Russian diplomats bound for US talks in Riyadhpublished at 06:36 Greenwich Mean Time
Liza Fokht
BBC Russian, reporting from Paris
Image source, Russian Foreign MinistrySergei Lavrov and Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov getting off the plane in Riyadh
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Vladimir Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov will meet with top US diplomats in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Both Lavrov and Ushakov are highly experienced diplomats who have spent years helping Putin implement Russian foreign policy.
Lavrov has led the foreign ministry for more than 20 years.
Ushakov has been one of Putin’s key foreign policy advisers for over a decade. During Putin’s first presidential terms, he served as Russia’s ambassador to the US.
Their participation in today’s meeting – though it is not yet about peace negotiations but rather the technical preparation for a Trump-Putin summit – also signals a shift in Moscow’s policy.
As BBC Russian has reported in recent years, the role of Russian diplomats in key decisions regarding national security and the country’s future had been minimised.
Their return to high-level negotiations could be a potential sign that Russia is indeed hoping to reach an agreement with the US to stop the war in Ukraine, albeit on its own terms.