At Riyadh talks, Russia asked US to unfreeze assets and ease sanctions / The New Voice of Ukraine

During the Feb. 18 meeting between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, the Kremlin requested the United States unfreeze state assets and ease sanctions, independent Russian outlet Moscow Time reported on Feb. 19, citing a diplomatic source familiar with the meeting.

According to the source, Moscow is seeking access to approximately $6 billion frozen in the United States. These funds are part of the Russian Central Bank reserves that had been invested in U.S. assets before the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The Russian delegation also raised the issue of returning two properties in New York and Maryland, which were seized in 2016 by the Obama administration over suspicions they were used for espionage purposes.

The journalists also reported that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin instructed the delegation to maintain a "maximally friendly tone" to achieve favorable terms.

Immediately following the Riyadh meeting, Kirill Dmitriev, a member of the Russian negotiating team, stated that the parties did not discuss sanctions at all.