At the meeting in Riyadh, Russia sought the release of its frozen state assets and an easing of US-applied sanctions. This amounts to approximately $6B, which represents the portion of the Russian Central Bank’s reserves that are being held in the US. In total, Western countries have imposed sanctions on $300B of Russia’s gold and foreign exchange reserves, about $200B of which is being held in Europe.
According to sources, the Russian delegation arrived in Saudi Arabia with a demand to resume diplomatic relations and to retrieve Russian diplomatic property in the US. Putin instructed the delegation to display “the friendliest and even complimentary attitude towards their American counterparts and President Trump personally” to gain maximum benefit.
At the same time, the Russian leader stated that he “highly appreciates” the outcome of these negotiations with the US. According to him, Russia is “ready to return to the negotiating table on Ukraine,” and Putin himself will meet with Trump. The Russian leader also mentioned that during his conversation with Trump, the US president gave his assurance that the negotiations would take place with participation from both Ukraine and Russia.