Trump and Macron discuss meeting between Russian and US delegations in Riyadh

US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron had a telephone conversation during which they discussed the meeting and talks between the Russian and American sides in Saudi Arabia. This was reported by the newspaper Politico on February 17.

"A White House spokesman characterized the conversation as friendly and said the two leaders discussed the conflict in Ukraine, an upcoming meeting of European countries and talks in Saudi Arabia between US and Russian officials," the newspaper reported.

The conversation ended just minutes before Macron greeted European dignitaries gathered to discuss security issues in Paris.

The French president's office also said the "frank conversation" between the world leaders lasted 20 minutes.

Equation of power: Putin-Trump dialog forces the West to change positions on Ukraine

Even NATO gave a positive assessment of the leaders' contacts

On February 17, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov arrived in Riyadh to attend U.S.-Russian talks. Earlier in the day, Ushakov said that the talks would be held in a bilateral format. He added that the participants are now facing the question of how to start a dialog on the Ukrainian issue.

On February 13, US President Donald Trump announced a meeting between representatives of Russia and the United States in Saudi Arabia.