SAUDI-US-RUSSIA-UKRAINE-CONFLICT-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY

(L to R) US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, National Security Advisor Mosaad bin Mohammad al-Aiban, the Russian president's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attend a meeting together at Riyadh's Diriyah Palace on February 18, 2025. Top US and Russian diplomats were meeting in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks on resetting their countries' fractured relations and making a tentative start on trying to end the Ukraine war. Both sides played down the chances that the first high-level meeting between the countries since US President Donald Trump took office would result in a breakthrough. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein / POOL / AFP) (Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)