Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman on 18 February following the US-Russia talks in Riyadh. Photo: EPA-EFE/RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE 

A second round of US-Russia talks is due to get underway in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh on Tuesday, German newspaper Die Zeit has reported, adding that the talks would pick up where the first round of negotiations held on 18 February left off.

There has as yet been no confirmation of the talks from either Moscow or Washington. It is also unknown who will represent each side, although AFP reported on Monday that the meeting would take place at a lower level than last week’s talks in Riyadh, which were attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Die Zeit’s report came shortly after French President Emmanuel Macron’s meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington, following which Macron told Fox News that a ceasefire agreement between Moscow and Kyiv could be reached in the “weeks to come”.

Neither European nor Ukrainian representatives were invited to attend the first round of talks, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that he would not recognise the outcome of any deal negotiated without Ukraine’s presence.

If confirmed, a second round of US-Russia talks would appear to underline that Trump and Russia remain intent on sidelining Ukraine and Europe from negotiations to end the war with Ukraine, with Lavrov commenting on 17 February that he saw no place for Europe at the negotiating table.

However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov neither confirmed nor denied on Tuesday that the next round of US-Russia negotiations was about to take place, telling journalists to address the Foreign Ministry for further details, according to state-owned news agency TASS.