More now from Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

Speaking to reporters, he says Russia is not against Ukraine joining the European Union as it does not see this as threat to its security.

"This is the sovereign right of any country. We are talking about integration and economic processes, and here, of course, no one can dictate anything to any country. We're not going to do that," Peskov says.

"But our stance on matters related to security, defence or military alliances is completely different. There's another issue there, and it's well known to everyone," he adds

He also says there is no more information about a potential Trump-Putin meeting, but today's talks may provide further clarification.

Image source, Getty Images

The Kremlin says Vladimir Putin is prepared to talk to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky "if necessary".

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov tells reporters: "Putin himself said that he would be ready to negotiate with Zelensky if necessary.

"But the legal basis of agreements needs discussion considering the reality that Zelensky's legitimacy can be questioned," he adds.

Some context: Putin has repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of Zelensky, whose presidential term expired last May. Ukrainian officials say Russia’s continuing invasion and martial law in Ukraine make it practically impossible to hold presidential elections.

Why is Saudi Arabia hosting the talks?published at 09:56 Greenwich Mean Time 18 February

09:56 GMT 18 February

Sebastian Usher
Middle East analyst

Image source, Reuters

On many fronts - in entertainment and sport in particular - Saudi Arabia has spent huge amounts of money to further its ambitions to be a major player on the world stage.

Diplomatically, the Saudi leadership has also been enhancing its role. During the Biden years, the Kingdom increased its pivot away from reliance on the US as its key international ally.

The Saudis made clear that they would follow what they perceive as their interests first and foremost - striking up closer relationships with countries viewed as key rivals to the US, such as Russia and China.

The return of Donald Trump to the White House will have been welcomed by the Saudis.

But there are still concerns occasionally raised at international forums over Saudi Arabia's human rights record.

What is clear is that the Saudis have no intention of reining in their ambition of becoming an essential player in global diplomacy.

• Read more:Why Saudi Arabia is the venue of choice for Trump talks on Ukraine

Image source, AFP

As the talks between US and Russian officials continue in Saudi Arabia, Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, General Keith Kellogg, is holding separate meetings in Europe.

His first was in Brussels, with European Council President Antonio Costa and the leader of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

Von der Leyen says the discussion was important, adding: "We want to partner with the US to deliver a just and lasting peace for Ukraine."

Next stop is Poland, with President Andrzej Duda saying he will host Kellogg at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw.

He then heads to Kyiv, Ukraine.Yesterday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he wanted to take Kellogg to the frontline.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

As we just reported, there were more strikes across Ukraine overnight.

Russian attacks on civilian residential buildings in Ukraine continued in the immediate run-up to the talks in Riyad, Ukrainian authorities say.

An 80-year-old man has died in the frontline town of Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia region, as his house came under shelling, administration head Ivan Fedorov says.

In Dolynska, central Ukraine - hundreds of miles away from the frontline - a Russian drone blew a hole in the wall of a civilian high-rise. The interior ministry says two children and an adult were injured in the attack.

The ministry also published dramatic footage of a Russian drone attack against rescue workers arriving at the scene of an earlier attack targeting a tanker delivering fresh water to residents of Kostyantynivka, in the eastern Donetsk region.

The head of the Kostyantynivka administration, two rescue workers and two police officers were injured in the attacks, the ministry said.

Image source, Reuters

Now for an update on the ground in Ukraine.

Overnight, air defences shot down 103 out of 176 drones launched by Russia, the Ukrainian Air Force says.

They were shot down over several regions, including Kyiv, where smoke could be seen rising above the city. On Monday evening, residents of Kyiv were instructed to take cover by the mayor.

Damage was reported in Kirovohrad, Kharkiv, Kyiv and Cherkasy.

A further 67 drones were lost in flight, the air force adds.

• We summarised the latest developments from the frontline earlier on

Image source, Reuters

As we mentioned earlier, Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian sovereign wealth fund, is also part of Moscow's delegation in Riyadh.

It appears he is not currently in the room with the other diplomats, but briefing the reporters stationed outside.

He says he expects progress on economic issues to be made between the US and Russia within three months.

He also claims US businesses have lost more than $300bn after leaving Russian markets following the invasion of Ukraine, according to Russian state media.

Some background from BBC Monitoring's Russia editor, Vitaliy Shevchenko: Dmitriev is close to Vladimir Putin's family.

His wife studied together with Putin's daughter, Katerina Tikhonova, at Moscow's most prestigious university MGU. She later became Tikhonova's deputy at a lucrative foundation promoting hi-tech ideas.

More recently, Dmitriev was involved in negotiations to release American school teacher Marc Fogel.

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent, travelling with Marco Rubio

Both delegations sat in silence and looked at the press as we were in the room for around a minute filming.

The US Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, was writing some notes.

I am told the Saudi hosts stayed in the room only to make welcoming statements, before they left the two delegations for the talks to start.

I shouted questions to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“Is the US sidelining Ukraine?” and “what concessions will there be asked of Russia?”

He didn’t answer.

Image source, Reuters

As the talks get started, let's look at the players at the table. On the Russian side:

• Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister. Lavrov, 72, has represented Vladimir Putin's Russia on the international stage for more than 20 years
• Yuri Ushakov, foreign policy adviser to Putin. He previously served as Russia's ambassador to the US

Image source, Reuters

For the US:

• Marco Rubio, US secretary of state. Considered a foreign policy hawk, he was confirmed in the role last month
• Mike Waltz, national security adviser. A military veteran and long-time Trump supporter
• Steve Witkoff, Middle East envoy. Trump's personal friend, golf buddy and billionaire real estate developer

Image source, Reuters

And at the head of the table are the Saudi hosts:

• Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud and National Security Adviser Musaed bin Mohammed al-Aiban

Image source, EPA

While the American and Russian delegations have just taken their seats at the table in Riyadh, there's a key country missing from these talks: Ukraine.

While this isn't the start of peace negotiations - as the US is keen to emphasise - it's very much in the line of sight. Indeed, Donald Trump foresaw talks starting "immediately" following his surprise call with Vladimir Putin last week.

Neither Volodymyr Zelensky, nor any other Ukrainian officials, are at today's talks. Indeed, Zelensky was not invited to attend.

"We cannot recognise [peace] agreements...without us," he told reporters on a trip to the UAE yesterday.

Instead, Zelensky is today in Turkey to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. We'll be monitoring the visit for any new lines.

Image source, Reuters

The talks between the Russian and US delegations in Saudi Arabia have begun.

The American side has emphasised that today's meeting is not about starting negotiations, but to work out if Russia is "serious" about to end the Ukraine war.

Russia says its priority is to begin normalising relations with the US.

It's not clear how much of this meeting will take place behind closed doors - but we'll bring you the key lines as we get them.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

We've just had this photo of Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov leaving his hotel in the capital of Saudi Arabia, as he heads to the talks.

We're expecting them to start any moment.

Image source, Reuters

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent, travelling with Marco Rubio

The US delegation is in the Diriyah Palace ahead of their meeting with Russian officials.

The press are being held near the meeting room.

We're told we will be allowed to go in for a few minutes.

Next week will mark three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

While we wait for the US-Russia talks to begin in Saudi Arabia, let's take a look at the latest on the frontline:

Moscow is continuing to seize territory in the eastern Donbas region. Russian forces have recently taken the town of Kurakhove and are continuing to advance north-eastwards towards the city of Pokrovsk

But Ukraine is inflicting significant losses on Russia's troops, slowing Moscow's offensive on the eastern front. Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city, remains beyond the range of Russian artillery.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested a territory swap earlier this month, involving areas seized in recent months by Ukraine in Russia's Kursk border region and land seized by Russian-backed fighters since 2014 in Donetsk and Luhansk.

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent, travelling with Marco Rubio

I’ve just been shown a photo of the room that the US and Russian delegations will meet.

They will sit opposite each other along a long wooden table, where Russian and US flags are placed.

And then the talks will begin. It's not clear how long they will go on for.

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent, travelling with Marco Rubio

Our group of journalists have arrived at the Diriyah Palace in Saudi Arabia where the meeting between the US and Russia is due to begin very shortly.

We're expecting the Russian foreign minister and new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to join in the next few minutes.

Image source, Reuters

Also part of the Russian delegation in Riyadh is Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the talks, he says Moscow sees US President Donald Trump and his team as "problem solvers".

They have "already addressed a number of big challenges very swiftly, very efficiently and very successfully", Dmitriev adds, the Reuters news agency reports.

Away from the main talks, Dmitriev is also due to meet US representatives for economic discussions.

Liza Fokht
BBC Russian, reporting from Paris

Image source, Russian Foreign Ministry

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Vladimir Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov will meet with top US diplomats in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Both Lavrov and Ushakov are highly experienced diplomats who have spent years helping Putin implement Russian foreign policy.

Lavrov has led the foreign ministry for more than 20 years.

Ushakov has been one of Putin’s key foreign policy advisers for over a decade. During Putin’s first presidential terms, he served as Russia’s ambassador to the US.

Their participation in today's meeting - though it is not yet about peace negotiations but rather the technical preparation for a Trump-Putin summit - also signals a shift in Moscow’s policy.

As BBC Russian has reported in recent years, the role of Russian diplomats in key decisions regarding national security and the country’s future had been minimised.

Their return to high-level negotiations could be a potential sign that Russia is indeed hoping to reach an agreement with the US to stop the war in Ukraine, albeit on its own terms.

Image source, Reuters

US-Russia talks about the war in Ukraine are due to start in less than an hour in Saudi Arabia. Here's everything you need to know before then:

• US officials say the talks are not the start of negotiations, but the first step in seeing if Russia is "serious" about ending the war in Ukraine - Russia says the meeting is about normalising US relations
• Another aim is to arrange talks between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, also in Riyadh. The pair spoke last week - Trump told reporters "we'll meet in Saudi Arabia", without setting a date. Our correspondent Tom Bateman is in Riyadh and will send us more detail
• Yesterday, European leaders met in Paris for separate talks on Ukraine - the summit was quickly arranged after the US and Russia announced their meeting
• UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had earlier said he was prepared to consider sending troops into Ukraine if and when the war ends. But the idea wasn't backed by all - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the discussion around troops was "inappropriate" and "premature"
• Starmer also said any peace deal would need a US "backstop" as a guarantee to help keep the peace in Ukraine - it's unclear what this might look like, but UK allies suggested it could be air support, logistics or intelligence capabilities

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent, travelling with Marco Rubio

We are loaded in the press vans and headed to the Diriyah Palace ahead of the US-Russia meeting.

Meeting now expected to start around 10:00 local (07:00 GMT).