Cairo/Moscow, 18 February 2025 (dpa/MIA) - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is meeting his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for wide-ranging discussions set to focus on the war in Ukraine, following a major shift in US policy under President Donald Trump.

The Kremlin said that the talks - the first meeting between the two top diplomats - are to prepare for potential negotiations to resolve the Ukraine conflict and a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The agenda includes a range of issues concerning the restoration of US-Russian relations.

According to the Kremlin, Yuri Ushakov - foreign policy adviser to Putin - will also take part in the talks.

Rubio had previously said that he intended to meet US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz in Saudi Arabia to engage with Russian representatives.

Zelensky does not recognize talks on Ukraine

Neither representatives from Ukraine nor from European countries have been invited to the discussions in Saudi Arabia. European leaders met in Paris in Monday to discuss how to respond to being sidelined - with no concrete outcome.

Although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected in Riyadh for talks with the Saudi leadership, he has declared that he does not recognize the legitimacy of the talks between Rubio and Lavrov regarding Ukraine. He emphasized that any negotiations over a resolution to the conflict can only occur with Kiev's involvement.

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 led to a severe rift between the US - led at the time by Joe Biden - and Russia.

Last week, Trump called Putin to discuss a possible end to the war, in a move that shocked Ukraine and its allies.

Rubio and Lavrov also spoke on the phone following this.