As Russia’s foreign minister of more than 20 years, Sergei Lavrov is not one for big emotions.
So when he says the talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, about ending the war in Ukraine were “not unsuccessful”, that’s diplomatic speak for “we’re pretty chuffed”.
And the Russians have plenty of reasons to cheer.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov (R) attended the talks. Pic: Reuters
Ukraine-Russia peace talks latest
The imagery, for starters. After three years in the international wilderness, isolated by the West, they once again have a seat at the table. Quite literally.
And this wasn’t just any table. This was superpower to superpower; a visual representation of respect from Washington that will go a long way in Moscow.
What’s more, it gave Russia the chance to reinforce its narrative around the war – that it is the victim, not the aggressor – and we’re already seeing that.
Russia’s focus on peace “has been there from the very beginning”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
I think Russia will also be extremely pleased by the noises that have come from the other side of the table.
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The Kremlin’s got the US talking about geopolitical and economic cooperation. The State Department even mentioned “historic investment opportunities” in the same sentence as an end to the war.
That suggests to me that the removal of sanctions and the resumption of relations with Moscow is all tied into a peace deal, which Russia will count as a victory already.
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Ahead of the talks, Russia made it clear what’s in it for the Americans.
Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, spoke about the billions of dollars American business has lost by leaving the Russian market as a result of the invasion.
Russia says its market is ‘extremely attractive’
“The US and many other countries are beginning to understand that the Russian market is extremely attractive and that they need to be present there,” he told Russian state media in Riyadh.
By framing things financially, Moscow is trying to appeal to Donald Trump’s business background.
It sounds like they’re succeeding, with the discussions already being shaped by cold, hard economics. Ukraine (and Europe) might accuse the two sides of putting profits first and peace second.
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And while US secretary of state Marco Rubio spoke of all sides needing to make concessions, there hasn’t been any sign of that from Moscow just yet. Quite the opposite.
In his comments after the talks finished, Mr Lavrov took the chance to reassert Russia’s red lines – no NATO membership for Ukraine and no NATO member troops there either, regardless of which flag they were operating under.
Normally a negotiation is about give-and-take, but at the moment, Ukraine will no doubt feel like the US is doing all the giving while Russia is only taking.
