Russian state media outlets have abruptly ceased using the term “Anglo-Saxons” to refer to Americans following Kremlin orders to moderate their language, The Moscow Times has reported.

The Amsterdam-based publication, citing anonymous sources, stated that state media received new editorial guidelines in mid-February following the inauguration of US President Donald Trump and renewed diplomatic engagements between Russia and the United States over the war in Ukraine.

The term “Anglo-Saxons” has frequently been used by Russian state media, as well as by senior officials such as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, to describe the English-speaking world, primarily the United States and the United Kingdom. The phrase, often employed in a derogatory manner alongside terms such as “the collective West,” became more prevalent following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

However, after recent discussions between Moscow and Washington, the term has largely disappeared from major state television broadcasts and publications. According to The Moscow Times, the directive to state-run outlets was swiftly implemented, with figures such as political strategist Yevgeny Minchenko publicly rejecting the notion that “Anglo-Saxons” were responsible for Russia’s difficulties.

Other prominent commentators, including Dmitry Kiselyov, who previously threatened the US with nuclear strikes, have adjusted their rhetoric. Instead of condemning Washington, Kiselyov recently referred to Russia, China and the United States as the “Big Three” global powers, dismissing the European Union and Nato as politically insignificant. (Read more from “Russian State Media Stops Calling Americans “Anglo-Saxons” After Kremlin Directive” HERE)

Russia praised the first round of Ukraine war talks with the United States as “very useful”, while the American delegation said both sides had committed to “make sure the process moves forward in a timely and productive manner” and will work towards a Presidential meeting soon.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for the first in-person talks of high-level delegations since Russia invaded Ukraine almost three years ago in 2022. After four and a half hours of talks the meeting broke, with both sides relating they felt it had been productive.

In terms of normalising diplomatic relations between Russia and the U.S., both sides are said to have agreed to return to staffing their embassies in the respective nations.

One of the intended outcomes of the talks was apparently laying the groundwork for an in-person meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin for the actual war-ending negotiation process. No date has been set for that meeting, but it was said work was happening to enable it.

Advisor to President Putin and former Russian ambassador to the U.S., Yury Ushakov, who sat around the table with Rubio and Lavrov, said after leaving the meeting that it was not likely Trump and Putin would meet within the next week but that both wanted to meet eventually. He said: “The delegations of the two countries have a lot of work to do. We are ready for this but it is still difficult to speak about the specific date of the meeting between the two leaders… The issue was discussed. We are working out the terms of this meeting”. (Read more from “U.S. And Russia Take ‘First Step’ With ‘Very Useful’ Ukraine War Talks, Agree Trump-Putin Meeting to Come” HERE)