Kremlin website, 2/19/25

Question: Interfax News Agency. Everyone is interested in the outcomes of talks in Riyadh. I am sure they have been reported to you. How do you assess them? Is there a positive result, if I may put it that way, from these talks?

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Yes, they have been reported to me. That’s point number one. Number two, I rate them high, there is a result.

The first thing I would like to say is that we have agreed to resume normal operation of our respective diplomatic missions. The unending expulsions of diplomats from Washington DC and Moscow do not do anything good to anyone. If things keep going that way, we will end up with just cleaners working in those buildings. Their work is important, of course, but it is not what diplomatic missions are created for. That is my first point.

Second, I believe we have made the first step to resume work across a variety of areas of mutual interest, including the Middle East in the broad sense of the word – I mean our presence in Syria, the Palestinian-Israeli settlement, and so on. There are many issues there that involve both the United States and the Russian Federation, even though, of course, the situation in Ukraine is our priority.

But we also have other matters to consider such as the economy, and our joint activities on global energy markets. So, in general… Yes, outer space too, of course, because despite the problems of the past three years, we are still working together in outer space, and US astronauts and Russian cosmonauts are working on the ISS. Work continues, and prospects are good. All of that was reviewed at the meeting in Riyadh. The assessment is positive.

Overall, as I was told, the atmosphere was very friendly. As I was told by the participants from our side, unlike US representatives we dealt with earlier, these people from the American side were open for negotiation without any bias or condemnation of what has been done in the past. In any case, there was nothing like that in the bilateral contacts. Our partners in dialogue are ready to work together, open for joint work.

Question: The Europeans are rather agitated, almost in panic, that they are not participating in the negotiations in any way, and similar sentiments prevail among Ukrainian officials. Everyone wants to have a voice. What should be done with all of them?

Vladimir Putin: A voice in what? I have just stated that the purpose and subject of our negotiations was the restoration of Russian-American relations. Does someone wish to act as a mediator between Russia and the United States? These are likely excessive demands.

Moreover, the crux of resolving all highly acute issues, including the Ukrainian settlement, lies in the fact that without enhancing the level of trust between Russia and the United States, it is impossible to resolve many problems, including the Ukrainian crisis. The very purpose of this meeting was precisely to enhance trust between Russia and the United States.

As for other participants, first and foremost, Russia has never refused contacts with European counterparts. Russia has never turned its back on negotiations with Ukraine – never. It is, in fact, our counterparts in these discussions who have chosen to withdraw. The Europeans terminated contacts with Russia, and the Ukrainian side has self-imposed a ban on negotiations, withdrawing from the Istanbul process and publicly announcing that. Well, we are not imposing anything on anyone. We are prepared – I have already stated this a hundred times: if they so desire, let them conduct these negotiations, and we will be ready to return to the negotiating table.

Regarding Euro-Atlantic relations, we do not interfere here. We do not engage in conjecture about the various issues that emerge between the United States and its allies. But if we speak of these allies, they themselves must shoulder the responsibility for what is happening now.

Mr Trump was once accused of having a special relationship with Russia, and that Russia meddled in the election process when he won the first time. They put together a team, dragged him through courts, and even created a special congressional commission. They found nothing, because there was nothing to find, and none of what they alleged ever happened.

What did we witness during this election campaign? All European leaders without exception directly interfered in the US electoral process. It came to the point where they directly insulted one of the candidates. It was clear whose side we were on, but we never interfered and certainly did not make any strong statements or rude remarks with regard to candidates. We just did not do it, while the Europeans did.

Frankly, I am surprised to see the newly elected US President act with such restraint with regard to his allies who behaved in such an ugly, to put it bluntly, manner. I mean, he is acting in quite a gentlemanly manner toward them.

But they are not shutting themselves off. Speaking of the Ukraine settlement, the United States is working with its European allies. Mr Kellogg, as far as I know, is in Kiev now, correct? Before that, he met with the Europeans. Now, the President of France and the Prime Minister of Great Britain are planning trips to Washington. Nothing is shut off there. The Americans are discussing these issues with them.

We, for example, have the renewal of START-3 on the table. People may have forgotten, but this treaty will expire exactly one year from now in February 2026. Do they really want to sit at the negotiating table and mediate between Russia and the United States? Probably, not. But why throw tantrums? That is totally uncalled for.

With regard to the negotiating process, President Trump told me during the telephone call – and I can confirm this – that the United States is operating on the premise that the negotiating process will include both Russia and Ukraine. No one is excluding Ukraine from this process.

So, there are no grounds for this kind of reaction to the Russia-US meeting.

Question: Apparently, [US Secretary of State] Rubio promised to keep their European allies informed.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, we are aware of that. On our part, we will certainly inform our friends from BRICS. We know about their interest in settling Russia-Ukraine relations, addressing this crisis, and ceasing hostilities. We respect their proposals, and I have stated this many times. We will inform them about the results of the Russia-US talks very shortly.

Question: When are you going to meet with Mr Putin… Sorry, Mr Trump?

Vladimir Putin: I meet with him [Putin] every day when I look in the mirror. (Laughter.)

You know, this meeting should be properly prepared. I would be happy to meet with Donald. We have not seen each other for a long time. We do not have a particularly close relationship, but in the previous years, during his first presidential term, we met and had very smooth discussions about our bilateral relations. I would gladly meet with him again. I believe he feels the same way – it was evident from the tone of our telephone conversation.

But we are in a situation where it would not be enough to meet – to just have a cup of tea or coffee and talk about the future. We must make sure that our teams prepare discussion points that are crucial for both the United States and Russia, including, but not limited to, the Ukrainian track, in order to reach decisions that both parties would find acceptable. This is not an easy task, of course.

I have already mentioned that. When Mr Trump was running for US president, he spoke about settling the Ukrainian crisis in a relatively short time. As President-elect, he began receiving information from intelligence services and other sources, which led him to change his view, and he admitted that it would take six months.

We are not going to discuss timelines right now, and that is absolutely natural, by the way, there is nothing unusual about it. He simply started receiving objective information that changed his approach. Therefore, it will take some time. I am not ready to say how much time, but we are ready to hold a meeting – and I would like to have this meeting. But, again, preparations are necessary if we want to see results.

Of course, as I said, we have many areas of cooperation. These include strategic stability, broader issues of the Middle East, and economic cooperation, primarily in energy.

You know, I still remember a trilateral telephone conversation among your humble servant, US President Trump and the King of Saudi Arabia. The three of us spoke on the phone and discussed the global energy market. A discussion of these issues in this format is still necessary today.

Speaking of which, I would like to sincerely thank the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the King and the Crown Prince, for graciously providing a platform in Riyadh for high-level meetings between Russia and the United States, and for creating a very friendly atmosphere.

I believe that in a few days – today it is not possible as I am on a working trip in St Petersburg – I will certainly call the Crown Prince and thank him personally for his assistance.

Question: May I ask how the special military operation is progressing? It continues despite ongoing negotiations. What updates do you have from the front lines?

Vladimir Putin: To be honest, our well-informed and courageous war correspondents, your colleagues, are heroically fulfilling their mission, performing their civic and professional duty. They provide objective updates to the Russian and global public regarding developments along the line of engagement.

I received an update just an hour ago, informing me that last night, personnel of the 810th Brigade have crossed the border between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, entering enemy territory. Our troops are making advances along the entire line of engagement.

Question: Drones have attacked an oil station in the Krasnodar Territory. Does this event reflect Zelensky’s reaction to the improving relations between Russia and the United States and the ongoing process?

Vladimir Putin: I cannot say for certain, and it is difficult for me to assess what has happened, but we must try to explain it. Many questions arise, and it is very difficult to answer them at this time.

First, what I say may seem unexpected: such attacks are impossible without space reconnaissance. Ukraine receives highly accurate reconnaissance data on specific targets from its Western allies. I do not know who provided the information and satellite images of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium facilities, but I can confidently say that the Ukrainian Armed Forces cannot achieve this independently; they lack the necessary satellite capabilities. This is the first point.

Second, this facility did not have any Russian air defence systems, and none are currently deployed there. This is understandable: we believed this facility would not be attacked because, technically, it is not a Russian facility; it is part of the international energy infrastructure. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium is owned by US companies, I believe it is Chevron, European companies, including ENI, and Russian companies, such as LUKOIL.

We hardly get any money from this transit – figuratively speaking, just a few pennies. It holds no economic significance for us. We simply provide a service to our Kazakhstani friends and partners operating in Kazakhstan. The oil being extracted falls under a production sharing agreement, which essentially means that it belongs to the companies extracting it, primarily American and European firms. While not a critical volume, it is still a notable quantity on global markets.

Naturally, the attack on such a facility – carried out using six drones – has already had, and will continue to have, an impact on global energy markets. The main reason for this is that, unfortunately, restoring the facility quickly is impossible because it primarily relies on Western equipment, which was damaged in the attack.

Incidentally, I was just informed that Europeans countries have extended their sanctions against Russia, specifically prohibiting the supply of Western oil and gas production equipment to us. What does this mean? It means that just two days after the Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out the attack, European leaders announced that repairing this facility would be impossible – because it mostly features European-made equipment, including components manufactured by the Germany company Siemens. Even if the necessary equipment were delivered tomorrow or the day after, repairs would still take 45 to 60 days. But now, the equipment will not be supplied at all.

Strictly speaking, this looks like coordinated action. But I do not want to believe that. I think this is just a coincidence. The Europeans are simply following their own path without paying attention to what is happening. However, when you put the pieces together, it does look coordinated.

Why would they do this? It is unclear. These actions only contribute to persistently high energy prices on global markets – something energy consumers, including European companies, are certainly not interested in.

By the way, the current US administration has repeatedly stated its goal of stabilising or even lowering energy prices. But such actions clearly work against the very objectives they claim to pursue.

As I understand, the consortium’s participants held a meeting yesterday to discuss the emerging challenges and determine their next steps. Once again, this is not so much our problem as it is an issue for foreign investors and stakeholders in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.