Putin personally chose negotiators for US consultations in Riyadh, aide says

Russian President Vladimir Putin personally selected the negotiators from Russia for upcoming consultations with the United States, scheduled to take place in Riyadh on March 24, according to his spokesman Dmitry Peskov. 

The consultations will feature expert representatives from both Russia and the US, with two prominent Russian figures leading the discussions: Grigory Karasin, chairman of the Federation Council’s Committee on International Affairs, and Sergei Beseda, advisor to the director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), Caliber.Az reports, referencing Russian media.

Peskov emphasized the significance of the negotiators, noting, “These are experienced negotiators with a wealth of experience in this kind of work. This is the choice of the president of the Russian Federation, and they will represent Russia in the best possible way at these talks.”

Karasin, 75, has had a long career in Russian diplomacy. He joined the Federation Council in 2019 as a representative from the Sakhalin region and served as the first deputy chairman of the Committee on Science, Education, and Culture until 2021. He then assumed leadership of the Committee on International Affairs. Before his role in the Federation Council, Karasin served as Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia from 2005 and supervised relations with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). He has been with the Russian Foreign Ministry since the 1970s.

Beseda, 70, has headed the FSB’s 5th Service, responsible for operational information and international relations, since 2009. 

The consultations in Riyadh follow a series of talks between the Russian and US leaders. On March 18, Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump held their second telephone conversation since Trump’s inauguration. The first call took place on February 12. This was followed by the first in-person meeting of US and Russian representatives in Riyadh on February 18, where discussions focused on Ukraine and the restoration of bilateral relations. Further consultations were held in Istanbul on February 27, where both sides worked on normalizing the operations of their diplomatic missions.

By Tamilla Hasanova