Russian-US talks on Ukraine war conclude after 12-hour meeting in Saudi Arabia

MOSCOW

A Russian-US meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh concluded after more than 12 hours of talks on Monday, according to media reports.

The meeting was the longest in a series of talks between the two countries that started on Feb. 18 with a meeting of Russia’s foreign minister and the US secretary of state.

The Russian and US delegations reportedly coordinated a joint statement set for release on Tuesday.

Prior to the meeting, Grigory Karasin, co-head of the Russian delegation, expressed hope that they would resolve "at least one issue," though he declined to name which.

In a separate statement, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said the meeting was aimed "mainly to work out the prospects for possible implementation of the well-known initiative concerning the safety of navigation in the Black Sea," referring to the Black Sea grain initiative amid the Ukraine war.