Saudi Arabia prepares for Russia-US summit

According to RIA Novosti, Bloomberg cited sources saying that US and Russian officials will meet next week in Saudi Arabia to prepare for a possible meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump to discuss ending the conflict in Ukraine.

"Senior US and Russian officials will meet next week in Saudi Arabia to prepare for a summit between the leaders that could take place later this month," Bloomberg said.

Details of the meeting and the list of attendees are still being worked out, according to the source. Bloomberg explained that the current goal is to agree on a date before the start of Ramadan in the host country.

On February 15, at the initiative of the United States, a phone call took place between the two US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia's Sergei Lavrov.

"At the initiative of the US side, a telephone conversation took place between the heads of foreign policy departments of the two countries," the Russian Foreign Ministry statement said.

The two foreign ministers agreed on a number of points, including: Affirming their readiness to restore mutually respectful dialogue; agreed on regular contacts, including preparations for the meeting between President Putin and President Trump; agreed to maintain a communication channel to resolve outstanding issues in relations between the two countries; discussed measures to end the policy initiated by former President Barack Obama to tighten working conditions for Russian diplomatic missions in the United States; agreed to hold a meeting of experts to coordinate steps to remove common obstacles in the work of Russian and American foreign missions; affirmed their commitment to cooperation on current international issues, including Ukraine and the Middle East.

America and Russia