DOHA, February 18. /TASS/. Saudi Arabia expects that the talks between the Russian and US delegations in Riyadh will align the positions of the two countries, the Foreign Ministry stated in a release.

"The talks were conducted within the framework of the kingdom's aspiration to reinforce peace and security, grounded in the belief that dialogue is the only means to resolve all international conflicts and align the positions of both sides to achieve positive outcomes that will influence the establishment of global peace and security," the statement posted on Saudi Foreign Ministry's X page said.

On the Saudi side, Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Musaed bin Mohammed al-Aiban participated in the talks, the ministry said.

The Russian and US delegations held talks in Riyadh earlier on February 18. Russia was represented at the meeting, which lasted 4.5 hours, by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev.

On behalf of the United States, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy for the Middle East Stephen Witkoff attended the talks.

According to Ushakov, the delegations talked at length about everything on the agenda, including bringing the positions of the two countries closer together and contacts on Ukraine. He said that the negotiators on the Ukrainian settlement were not yet appointed.

The State Department said that Lavrov and Rubio agreed to create a negotiating group and to work together in the future on common geopolitical interests.