The first session of talks between Russian and U.S. delegations came to an end in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh on Tuesday, with the Russian side describing the discussions as having made "positive" progress.
Yuri Ushakov, the Kremlin's foreign affairs adviser, said that the over four-hour-long meeting ended with "positive" results, noting that there had been "a serious conversation on all issues" and that the two sides had agreed to take each other's interests into account.
Regarding a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, Ushakov said the date for such a meeting remains uncertain, but noted that it was "unlikely" to take place as soon as next week, as some media reports had speculated.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had earlier mentioned in a local media interview last Thursday that Putin and Trump had quickly agreed to coordinate and hold a working meeting in a third country.
The two delegations also agreed to form teams to work on finding a pathway to ending the conflict in Ukraine, though the participants in those talks are yet to be determined, with the decision to be made by the two presidents, the spokesman said. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grushko emphasized that Tuesday's talks were initial consultations, aimed primarily at outlining each side's fundamental positions.
The Russian delegation included Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Ushakov, and the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev, while the U.S. side was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud was also present.
Russia, U.S.hold "positive" talks in Riyadh: Kremlin aide
China will continue deepening reform and expanding high-level opening-up to provide new opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region and the world, while reaffirming the country's commitment to regional economic integration and inclusive globalization, according to Wang Wentao, Chinese Minister of Commerce.
Wang made the remarks ahead of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, which is being held from Friday to Saturday in Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province.
By 2025, China had become the largest trading partner of 13 APEC economies. Trade between China and APEC economies reached 3.7 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for 57.8 percent of China's total foreign trade, while imports from APEC economies totaled 1.5 trillion dollars.
The country's actual use of foreign investment from APEC economies reached 90.61 billion dollars, while China's investment in APEC economies stood at 136.58 billion dollars.
So far, China has signed 24 free trade agreements or economic and trade arrangements with 31 countries and regions, including 15 APEC economies.
In recent years, China has also completed upgrades of free trade agreements with APEC economies, including Singapore and Peru.
"China has implemented the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement with high quality and actively advanced the process of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), supporting the coordinated development and mutual reinforcement of the two agreements to inject momentum into the building of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific. China has also proposed and promoted high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and the four major global initiatives, with the aim of advancing universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization and addressing unbalanced development," said Wang.
Facing common challenges, China will continue to demonstrate its responsibility as a major country by further deepening reform and expanding high-level opening-up, Wang said.
He noted that China will continue to create new opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region and the world through new achievements in Chinese modernization.
China vows stronger support for APEC cooperation, regional economic integration
