WASHINGTON, February 19. /TASS/. The Russian-US discussions in Riyadh are a historic turning point that will help create an inclusive security framework in the world, said Helga Zepp-Larouche, founder of the International Schiller Institute.
"The outcome of this long awaited meeting between the high ranking delegations from Russia and the US represents a relief for the entire world. The pathway laid out how to approach all problems on the table by taking into account the interest of all sides is very hopeful," she told TASS.
"This was a gamechanger moment in history and hopefully a first step towards an all inclusive security and development architecture, which overcomes the desease of geopolitics for ever."
"There was no reason to invite the participation of the Europeans at this stage of the discussion, given the fact that they had a no point since the beginning of the war, which according to Jens Stoltenberg started in 2014, tried to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict," she said.
"Even after it was clear, that their aim to ‘ruin Russia’ had failed, there was no moment of reflection or change of mind. Even at the recent Munich Security conference the unrelenting russophobia prevailed, led as usual by the British."
"If this russophobia is kept up, it will lead to a split up of the EU, where the countries who want peaceful relations with Russia, will possibly disassociate themselves," the expert said. "Given the fact that the Ukraine conflict is the result of a proxy war between NATO and Russia, it makes total sense, that it would be the US as the dominant force in NATO and Russia would sit down at the negotiating table, and that the proxy forces come in at a later point."
The Saudi discussions
At the Riyadh talks, Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and special envoy for the Middle East Stephen Witkoff participated in the negotiations from the US.
According to Ushakov, the delegations had a serious conversation on all the issues they wanted to address, including the alignment of their positions and discussions on Ukraine. He said that it is not yet known who will lead the Ukrainian settlement negotiations. Lavrov called the conversation with Washington's representatives very useful and said that Russia and the US had agreed to ensure the appointment of ambassadors in both capitals as soon as possible. The State Department said that Lavrov and Rubio agreed to create negotiating groups on Ukraine and to cooperate on shared geopolitical interests.