Lavrov says that during the meeting it was noted that Donald Trump was the "first of western leaders" to say that "dragging Ukraine into Nato was one of President Biden's biggest mistakes".

He says Putin has explained repeatedly that the expansion of Nato and the absorption of Ukraine into the alliance would act as a "direct threat" to Russia.

"Any appearance by armed forces under some other flag does not change anything. It is of course completely unacceptable," he says.

For context:Ukraine is not a Nato member. Russia has consistently opposed the idea of Ukraine joining the military alliance, fearing it would bring Nato forces too close to its borders.

However, in 2008, the alliance said that Ukraine could eventually join, external and Zelensky asked for the process to be fast-tracked due to the full-scale invasion of his country.

Trump's administration has rowed back on this ambition saying it is not a "realistic outcome".

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

More from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov now, who says three key agreements have been reached in Riyadh:

1. Appoint ambassadors to each other's countries as soon as possible, to lift "obstacles to diplomatic missions" including restrictions on bank transfers to embassies
2. Start the process on Ukrainian settlement, the US is to appoint its representative, then we'll appoint ours, Lavrov says
3. Create conditions for restarting our co-operation in full and expand in various spheres

"It was a very useful conversation. We listened to each other, and we heard each other," Lavrov tells the news conference.

Let's bring you the response from Russia now following that meeting in Saudi Arabia.

Sergei Lavrov, the country's foreign minister who was a part of the delegation in Riyadh, tells a news conference that Russia and the US have agreed to create conditions to restore co-operation in full between the two nations.

Lavrov's comments are being aired with an English translation in the stream at the top of this page. Press watch live to follow along and we will bring you further lines here as we get them.

Image source, Reuters

More now from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who says "we're not going to pre-negotiate an end to this conflict".

He says that "these are the kind of things" that take place through "hard and difficult diplomacy in closed rooms over a period of time".

"In order for a conflict to end, everyone in that conflict has to be okay with it, it has to be acceptable to them," he says.

Rubio adds that the "goal of today's meeting" was to follow-up on the phone call US President Donald Trump had with Russia's President Vladimir Putin last week and "establish those lines of communication".

"Today is the first step of a long and difficult journey, but an important one.

"President Trump is committed to bringing an end to this conflict, as he said when he campaigned for president.

"And he wants it to be... end in a way that's fair, he wants it to end in a way that's sustainable and enduring, not that leads to another conflict in two or three years."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has commented on Ukraine and the EU's absence from today's talks in Riyadh.

During a news conference following the talks, he says that "no one is being sidelined here".

He adds that from these talks, "some very positive things for the United States, for Europe, for Ukraine, for the world" could emerge - "but first it begins by the end of this conflict".

We'll bring you more lines from that news conference shortly.

As we just reported, the US and Russia have agreed to appoint "high-level teams" to begin working on a path to end Russia's war in Ukraine, the US State Department says.

The delegates from the two nations have also agreed to address "irritants" in the "bilateral relationship", spokesperson Tammy Bruce says in a statement. It is not clear what is meant by "irritants".

"One phone call followed by one meeting is not sufficient to establish enduring peace. We must take action, and today we took an important step forward," she adds.

The US and Russia will appoint teams to negotiate ending Ukraine war, the US State Department says in a readout, external, following high-level talks in Saudi Arabia.

We'll bring you more shortly.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

The meeting between Russia and the US has 'rejected' the logic of talks under the Biden administration, says Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund.

Dmitriev, a key member of the Russian delegation in Riyadh, tells Russian state TV: “This was a very respectful, calm conversation... the logic that existed under President Biden has been rejected.

"There’s a new logic where we need to talk and understand what we agree upon and if there are differences we need to understand what they are.”

James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent, in Kyiv

Desired membership of the EU, along with joining the Nato alliance, has been a core part of Ukraine’s continued political alignment with the West.

Russia’s 11-year campaign of aggression is Moscow’s attempt to deny Ukrainians of those dreams, or its sovereign rights.

The Kremlin says it would not oppose Ukraine’s EU membership, but that’s not to say it would happen soon.

Russia-friendly Hungary and Slovakia would likely block or stall any accession process.

Plus, if Kyiv joined the EU, it would likely be without the security guarantees Nato membership would provide.

If America won’t and Europe can’t protect Ukraine in the future, it could make the return of Ukrainian refugees problematic, and make European businesses less keen to invest in the country.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

A meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin next week is "unlikely", according to Putin's foreign policy advisor, Yuri Ushakov.

“We have agreed that separate team of negotiators will establish contact in due course,” he says.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Image source, Reuters

With the talks in Riyadh now over, some of the Russian delegates there have been commenting on how they went.

The head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev, tells Russian state TV's Channel One: "A very positive, constructive dialogue has begun.

"Unlike the Biden administration, which never tried to hear Russia's position, this was a very clear effort to start dialogue, understand Russia's position and discuss the things we agree upon."

He adds: “There are many points we agree on... we got to know each other much better... we understand each other much better now.”

Putin aide Yuri Ushakov says on Russian state TV of the talks: "Not bad, not bad... it's hard to say if [Russia and the US] are getting closer, but that's what we discussed... it was a very serious discussion of all the issues we wanted to touch upon... we have agreed to take account of each other's interests and develop bilateral relations, since both Moscow and Washington are interested in this."

He says they agreed that a "separate team of negotiators will establish contact in due course".

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent, travelling with Marco Rubio

The US State Department tells us the meeting between the US and Russian delegates in Riyadh has now finished.

They lasted more than four hours, including a working lunch.

The foreign ministry in Moscow has just released these pictures of the Russian and US delegations on their break from talks in Saudi Arabia.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

As we've been reporting, Ukraine has not been given a seat at the talks in Saudi Arabia today.

President Volodymyr Zelensky is instead in the Turkish capital, Ankara. It's his third visit to the country since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.

He'll be meeting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a little later, with the pair due to hold a joint news conference at 13:00 GMT (16:00 local time).

He's also been attending a ceremony for the opening of a Ukrainian embassy building, along with his wife, Olena Zelenska - captured in the images below:

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Why is Russia questioning Zelensky’s legitimacy?published at 11:35 Greenwich Mean Time 18 February

11:35 GMT 18 February

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Image source, EPA

Away from the talks in Riyadh today, Moscow has indicated that Vladimir Putin is ready to to meet Volodymyr Zelensky.

In issuing the statement, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov questioned the legitimacy of Zelensky's presidency - a line Putin himself has repeatedly used.

Here's some context:

Zelensky was elected president in 2019 for a five-year term.

It was due to run out in May 2024. But Ukrainian officials say Russia’s continuing full-scale invasion and martial law in Ukraine make it practically impossible to hold presidential elections.

Ukraine’s legislation on martial law, external specifically bans presidential, parliamentary and local elections.

That’s why Zelensky has stayed on, while Russia says his mandate has expired.

In Ukraine, however, calls for presidential elections are rare, and even Zelensky’s key rivals say they would be difficult to organise and can be possibly manipulated by Russia.

Image source, Reuters

With the break for lunch now under way, here's everything you need to know about the US-Russia talks in Riyadh:

Who's there?

On the US side, it's Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

For Russia, it's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Putin's foreign policy advisor, Yuri Ushakov. Working the sidelines is Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund.

The Saudi foreign minister and the national security adviser are hosting the meeting. Our correspondent in Riyadh, Tom Bateman, says they stayed only briefly.

..and who isn't?

There's a key country missing from these talks: Ukraine.

Neither Volodymyr Zelensky nor any other Ukrainian officials were invited. Zelensky is instead in Turkey, meeting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

What's being discussed?

We're waiting on a full briefing, but the talks were arranged with bringing an end to the Ukraine war in mind.

The US insists today's meeting is not about starting negotiations, but to suss out if Russia is "serious" about a ceasefire. Moscow's priority is normalising its relations with America.

There's been nothing more about a potential Trump-Putin meeting, but the Russian foreign ministry suggests today's talks may provide further clarification.

Stick with us for further updates.

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent, travelling with Marco Rubio

We are told the working lunch has started, which means the US and Russian delegations have so far been in talks for around three hours and fifteen minutes.

We'll bring you a recap of everything we know about the meeting in our next post. Stay with us.

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent, travelling with Marco Rubio

After a 15-minute break, we are told the two sides are now back in the room.

It means they have been talking for more than two-and-a-half hours so far.

They are due to hold a working lunch together, which hasn’t started yet.

• The US and Russian teams at the table - a visual guide

We can now bring you some international reaction to the talks taking place in Saudi Arabia.

China says it hopes "all parties... can participate in peace talks in due course".

A foreign ministry spokesman tells reporters he is "happy to see all efforts towards peace".

For context: Beijing has repeatedly been accused by the West of supporting Russia's war in Ukraine while also trying to maintain its European relationships.

China has defended its business with Moscow and argues it is not selling lethal arms.

Beijing has also sought to position itself as a peace broker during the conflict, publishing its own peace plan in 2023.

Russia's foreign ministry says the US and Russian officials locked in talks in Saudi Arabia are taking a short break.

Spokesperson Maria Zakharova adds that when the talks are done, the foreign ministry will brief the media.