The U.S. and Russia are preparing for talks, with Trump making concessions to Putin even before the dialogue begins, according to the Financial Times.

The delegations from the United States and Russia will meet on Tuesday, February 18, in Riyadh for talks regarding the war in Ukraine. This event has raised concerns in Kyiv and among its European allies, who fear that Donald Trump may agree to resolve the conflict on Vladimir Putin's terms, reports Financial Times.

Concessions Before Talks

The negotiations in the Saudi capital will mark the first high-level attempt to end Russia's full-scale invasion since it began nearly three years ago. Previous talks collapsed due to the Kremlin's stringent demands.

However, this time the U.S. appears to have made significant concessions even before dialogue begins—specifically, by withdrawing support for Ukraine's NATO membership and its desire to regain control over occupied territories.

Such conditions may only strengthen Putin's confidence in his own positions. According to Andrei Kozyrev, a former Russian foreign minister, the Russian government has shown no willingness to compromise on its geopolitical ambitions.

"For Putin, the Cold War and its objectives have never ended: to undermine NATO, split the U.S. and Europe, and dominate Eastern Europe," Kozyrev noted. "As he is given territorial and strategic rewards even before negotiations, he is encouraged to conquer more and discuss more humiliating concessions that he could obtain, reinforcing the old Kremlin mantra about a weak democratic West."

The combination of Russia's increased activity on the front lines and Trump's desire to end the war as quickly as possible raises doubts among Western diplomats about the Kremlin's genuine interest in resolving the conflict.

"If an agreement provides Ukraine with unlimited flexibility for armament and continues close cooperation with the West, Putin will be reluctant to agree to anything like that," said a former senior U.S. official.

He also remarked:

"He fears that Ukraine will simply grow stronger and move closer to the West, depriving Moscow of the opportunity to launch a new invasion. If Putin feels confident that he can dominate Ukraine or that Ukraine cannot receive support from the West, then he may come back for more."

On the Russian side, Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived for the talks. The U.S. delegation will be represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Trump's Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff. Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian sovereign wealth fund, will also be in Riyadh.

"An Approach of Agreements, Not Peacekeepers"

Moscow political analyst Andrei Kolesnikov noted: "Russia's approach is one of agreements, not peacekeepers. Putin will be very happy to divide the world and spheres of influence with Trump. A new iron curtain and cold war will help him keep the Russian population on a short leash without a hot war."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has already stated that he will not accept any decisions made without Kyiv's participation: "We cannot recognize any agreements about us without us."

Ekaterina Schulmann, a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin, believes that Putin may be willing to drop some of his demands if a revision of the international security order can be achieved.

Earlier, Russia had already abandoned its demand for the "denazification" of Ukraine during negotiations at the start of the war, although Putin reiterated it in his ceasefire conditions last June.

"He has said many times that the war is not for Ukraine but for existential sovereignty in the eyes of the West," Schulmann noted.

She added: "If he can convincingly demonstrate that Russia has forced the West to finally recognize Russia's greatness, reinstate it among the great powers, and lift sanctions, then secondary territorial and practical military issues will take a back seat."

At the Munich Security Conference that took place last weekend, European diplomats expressed concern over the speed with which Trump's administration is moving towards negotiations with Putin and that the Kremlin will hold most of the levers of influence.

One European diplomat noted that the main problem is that "Putin's Plan A is to continue fighting, not to engage in peaceful negotiations."

He added:

"We know that Trump wants to stop the killings; he constantly says that. But Putin is happy to return to war if he does not get what he wants and can keep dragging it out."

Although Putin has not publicly commented on the upcoming negotiations, last week he told Trump that Russia wants to "settle the causes of the conflict."

As another EU diplomat explained: "This means he is thinking about the entire Eastern European theater, American bases, American troops. Even the Turks are concerned that the Americans might negotiate NATO's future."

Start of Peace Talks - What Has Been Reported

As previously reported by UNIAN, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denies the potential participation of European representatives in the negotiations regarding the war in Ukraine and categorically rejected the possibility of returning occupied territories to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukrainian representatives will not participate in the meeting of the delegations from the U.S. and the Russian Federation, claiming that "Ukraine knew nothing about this." He also stated that "Ukraine considers any negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine to be meaningless."

Media reports also indicated that the goal of the negotiations is to organize a meeting between the three presidents - of Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia.