Billionaire Elon Musk's reaction to US-Russia negotiations

On February 18, the owner of Tesla, SpaceX, and X retweeted a Russian news report about the arrival of a delegation led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Riyadh. “This is the epitome of competent leadership,” Musk wrote on X.

In a video shared by billionaire Musk, journalist Yevgeny Popov asked Yury Ushakov, President Vladimir Putin's top foreign policy aide, about the mood ahead of the talks on February 19. Ushakov replied to Popov right on the airport tarmac: "We will see. The most important thing now is to start the process of real normalization of relations between us and Washington."

Musk, who donated 20,000 Starlink devices to Ukraine in 2022, later spoke out against the escalation of tensions between Russia and the US. "We are blindly rushing into World War III with one stupid decision after another," Musk said in 2023.

The meeting on February 19 will mark the first direct talks between Russia and the US since Moscow launched its military operation in Ukraine in 2022.

While the Biden administration pursues a policy of "isolating" Russia on the international stage, President Donald Trump has pledged to quickly mediate a permanent end to the conflict and criticized his predecessor for abandoning diplomacy in favor of unconditional military support for Kiev.

President Vladimir Putin declared last year that the campaign to isolate Russia “has failed”, as Moscow increasingly tightened ties with major economies outside Europe and North America, including China, India and Brazil.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on February 17, and is expected to meet with his Russian counterpart Lavrov.

President Trump had earlier held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 12, angering Ukraine's EU allies who felt sidelined by the conversation.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has said Kiev will “not recognize” any negotiations that take place without his approval, but he has also admitted that his government would have “a very low chance of winning” without US support.