Sawt Falasteen - Kremlin wants to discuss European security, not just Ukraine

Moscow has long called for the withdrawal of NATO forces from Eastern Europe, viewing the alliance as an existential threat on its flank.

The continent's defences were raised as part of the talks in Riyadh, which are the first time high-level officials from US and Russia have met since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine three years ago.

Europe, alarmed by Donald Trump's overhaul of US policy on Russia, fears Washington will make serious concessions to Moscow and re-write the continent's security arrangement in a Cold War-style deal between superpowers.

Before invading Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow had demanded NATO pull out of central and eastern Europe.

"A lasting and long-term viable resolution is impossible without a comprehensive consideration of security issues on the continent," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday, responding to a question by AFP.

European leaders held an emergency meeting in Paris a day earlier, but struggled to put on a united front.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in Turkey on Tuesday, said on the eve of the talks that he was not invited and would not "recognise any things or any agreements about us without us."

Isolated by the West for three years, Russia is hoping for a "restoration" of ties with the US and a comeback to the international arena.

At the Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, negotiations began without visible handshakes.

A stern-faced US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in office for less than a month, sat across from Sergei Lavrov, who has been Russia's foreign minister for more than two decades.

Rubio was accompanied by US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

Putin aide Yuri Ushakov was also in the talks, as were Saudi moderators.

The sides will also discuss a possible Putin-Trump summit.

- 'How to start negotiations' -

Both Russia and the US have cast Tuesday's meeting as the beginning of a potentially lengthy process and downplayed the prospects of a breakthrough.

"I don't think that people should view this as something that is about details or moving forward in some kind of a negotiation," US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

Russia's Ushakov told state media the talks would discuss "how to start negotiations on Ukraine."

Trump has said he wants to end the war in Ukraine, but has thus far presented no concrete plan.

The US has urged both sides that concessions will have to be made if any peace talks materialise.

Russia on the eve of the summit said there cannot be even a "thought" on it giving up territory seized from Ukraine.

The Kremlin said Tuesday that Ukraine had the "right" to join the European Union, but not the NATO military alliance.

It also said Putin was "ready" to negotiate with Zelensky "if necessary", though repeated its questioning of his "legitimacy" -- a reference to his five-year term expiring last year, despite Ukrainian law not requiring elections during war.

The Ukrainian leader was in Turkey on Tuesday for discussions on the conflict with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He is due in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, though said he does not plan to meet with US or Russian officials.

- 'Partner' -

The EU, reeling from a series of speeches by Trump's officials indicating Washington does not see Moscow as a threat, said it still wants to "partner" with the US on any truce talks.

Trump's administration has given no clear answer on whether the EU would take part and Moscow has said it sees no point in Europe having a seat at the table.

"Financially and militarily, Europe has brought more to the table than anyone else," the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on social media.

"We want to partner with the US to deliver a just and lasting peace for Ukraine."

Key Russian ally China also welcomed "efforts towards peace" on Tuesday.

"At the same time, we hope that all parties and stakeholders can participate," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

Russia has presented cautious optimism on the talks.

A Moscow negotiator said Tuesday he expects "progress" in talks on the economic front -- with Moscow seeking the removal of Western sanctions -- in the coming months.

"We have a series of proposals, which our colleagues are thinking about. And I think that there will, possibly, be progress in the not so distant future, in the next two-three months," the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev told Russian state TV from Riyadh.

He did not say specifically what those proposals were or when any future talks on the economy would take place.

Z.AbuSaud--SF-PST