Lavrov Travels to Saudi Arabia to Lay Groundwork for Trump-Putin Summit

By Staff, Agencies

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, accompanied by President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia on Monday to coordinate with US President Donald Trump’s team in preparation for an upcoming meeting between the two leaders, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Last week, Trump and Putin engaged in a 90-minute phone call—their first since Trump’s return to office. Following the conversation, both Moscow and Washington confirmed plans for a face-to-face summit, later announcing that it would be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Peskov explained that Lavrov and Ushakov are traveling to Riyadh under Putin's directives to meet with an American delegation on Tuesday. Their discussions will focus on rebuilding bilateral relations and organizing the Putin-Trump summit, as well as addressing the Ukraine crisis.

According to Peskov, Saudi Arabia was selected as the meeting location because it suits the interests of both Russia and the US.

He also noted that while discussions about resolving the Ukraine conflict may occur, the possibility of such negotiations will only be determined during Tuesday's meetings. Peskov emphasized that global efforts are now focused on ending the war, contrasting with earlier Western stances that appeared to support prolonging the conflict.