Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh on September 9, as speculation grows about potential Ukraine peace talks in the Kingdom, Saudi and Russian media reported.

The meeting, described by Russian sources as occurring in a "closed format," focused on bilateral relations and regional developments, according to Saudi state media. The Russian Foreign Ministry has not yet disclosed details of the discussions.

Lavrov's visit to Riyadh coincides with statements from Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani, who suggested Saudi Arabia as a possible venue for the next conference on Ukraine.

The high-level talks come as Lavrov participates in the Strategic Dialogue meeting between Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova reported that Lavrov had also met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.

The meeting covered ways to strengthen cooperation in various areas, reflecting growing ties between Moscow and Riyadh.

Both sides reviewed the latest regional and international developments, emphasizing efforts to promote security and stability.

Notable attendees from the Saudi side included Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Minister of the National Guard, and Dr Musaed Al-Aiban, Minister of State and National Security Advisor.

Notably, the Saudi foreign minister was also in Ukraine in July – his first visit post-invasion. Both Saudi Arabia and China were conspicuously absent from the Swiss peace summit held on June 16-17 and both have considerable sway over Putin and are likely to play key roles in any negotiated settlement.

KSA has also consistently called for a ceasefire and even hosted an earlier peace summit last year. In general Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) is playing a much more active and assertive role on the international geopolitical stage.

In Ukraine public sentiment is also turning slowly towards peace. A poll release this week by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) found that 32% of respondents agreed that Ukraine could give up territory to achieve peace as quickly as possible, up from 10% earlier, while 55% opposed the idea.

Zelenskiy has called for a second peace summit this autumn and has invited both China and Russia to attend in what some hope will formally kick off the process of ending the conflict.