Since the Russian invasion of February 2022, Ukraine has sacrificed a lot to defend its sovereignty and right to choose its future. The United States, long its primary supporter in this struggle, now treats it as a secondary player in the resolution of the conflict, under the leadership of President Donald Trump.

Such was the tragedy that loomed large during the resuming of diplomatic exchanges between the US and Russia on Tuesday, February 18. Held in a palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this meeting between two high-profile delegations followed the telephone conversation between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 12. It signaled an acceleration of the timetable and a reconfiguration entirely favorable to Moscow.

On the US side, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and the president's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, took part. What these three men all shared is their lack of experience in dealing with Russian officials. Facing them, on the other hand, were two men well-versed in the bilateral exercise: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin's diplomatic adviser, Yuri Ushakov. With them was another of the Russian president's loyalists: Kirill Dmitriev, who heads the sovereign wealth fund RDIF.

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