Negotiations Between Russia and United States in Riyadh Held in Closed Format — Zakharova

There were no opening remarks for the camera

MOSCOW, March 24. /TASS/. Negotiations between the Russian and US delegations in Riyadh are taking place in a closed format, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"There was not even a protocol photo session of the start of the negotiations," she told students of the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.

"The only thing we have published is the arrival of the motorcade to the building where it is taking place. There were no opening remarks for the camera."

Negotiations between Russia and the United States began on Monday morning. The Russian delegation is headed by Grigory Karasin, Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, and Sergey Beseda, Advisor to the Director of the Federal Security Service. The US delegation is led by Andrew Peek, a senior director at the White House National Security Council, and Michael Anton, a senior State Department official. Assistants to Keith Kellogg, special envoy for Ukraine, and Mike Waltz, National Security Advisor, also participate.

Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said the main topic of the consultations is the resumption of the Black Sea grain initiative in accordance with an agreement between the Presidents of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, reached during a telephone conversation.