Russian and US officials have begun talks on restoring bilateral relations and the Ukraine issue.
The talks took place at Diriyah Palace, in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh.
The Russian delegation was led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Other officials on the Russian delegation included Yury Ushakov, President Putin's top foreign policy aide, and Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).
The US delegation includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and Steve Witkoff, special envoy for the Middle East.
The talks are the most significant since the Cold War between the two countries to end the conflict in Ukraine, and mark another major step by the Trump administration to reverse its policy of isolating Russia, which Washington has pursued since former President Joe Biden.
The two sides are expected to discuss ways to end the conflict in Ukraine and restore US-Russia relations. The talks could pave the way for a summit between President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The talks came a day after European leaders held an emergency summit in Paris to agree a common strategy in the face of Mr Trump's push for talks with Russia over Ukraine.
The summit called for increased defense spending to improve the continent’s defense capabilities. However, countries have yet to find common ground on the idea of deploying peacekeeping forces in Ukraine after the conflict ends.