Rubio and Lavrov spoke on the phone, Trump's team flew to Saudi Arabia for trilateral negotiations, - Politico.

Conversation between Lavrov and Rubio: what Russia and the USA agreed on

On Saturday, a telephone conversation took place between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. According to Russian media, the American side was the initiator of the dialogue.

During the conversation, there was an exchange of views on ways to quickly stop the tightening conditions for the operation of Russian diplomatic missions in the USA, initiated by the Barack Obama administration in 2016, which led to corresponding measures by Russia.

The parties agreed to organize a meeting of experts in the near future to agree on specific steps to mutually remove barriers to the work of foreign representatives of Russia and the USA.

Lavrov and Marco Rubio confirmed their readiness to work together towards restoring respectful interstate dialogue in the tone set by the presidents. An agreement was also reached on regular contacts, particularly for preparing a Russian-American meeting at the highest level.

Trump administration's trip to Saudi Arabia for peace negotiations

High-ranking officials of the Trump administration are heading to Saudi Arabia to begin peace negotiations with Russian and Ukrainian representatives. This was reported by Politico, a Republican lawmaker and two American officials familiar with the plan.

National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the president's envoy to the Middle East Steve Vitcoff will begin negotiations on ending the war in the coming days. However, Trump's special envoy for negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, retired General Keith Kellogg, will not be present.

Representatives of other major European states do not plan to join the negotiations.

The meeting could become a significant moment in Trump's pursuit of a peace process and the first major meeting of representatives from Russia and Ukraine since the start of the war in 2022. Republican Mike McCaul confirmed these plans.

Two American officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the information but did not provide details regarding participants from the Ukrainian or Russian side.

President Trump told reporters that he expects a personal meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia. 'We expect to meet. We will meet in Saudi Arabia, we will see if we can achieve something,' he said.

At the Munich Security Conference, European officials emphasized that Ukraine must be directly involved in any negotiations. 'There will only be peace when Ukraine's sovereignty is ensured,' said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

'The president wants peace. But it must be an agreement where Ukrainians are at the negotiating table,' noted McCaul.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he does not believe in Putin's readiness for genuine peace negotiations: 'Trump told me that Putin wants to stop the war. I told him: 'Putin is a liar. I hope you will pressure him because I do not trust him.'

Is the Kremlin afraid? What after Trump's conversation with Putin

Earlier, ISW revealed what the Kremlin fears after Trump's conversation with Putin.