MOSCOW, Feb 17 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble weakened

slightly against the U.S. dollar on Monday ahead of Russia-U.S.

talks scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh

on February 18.

At 0915 GMT, the rouble was down 0.3% at 91.40

against the dollar, still the highest level for the Russian

currency since September 2024, according to data from the

over-the-counter market.

It was also down 0.3% against China's yuan, the most traded

foreign currency in Russia, in trade on the Moscow stock

exchange.

"The starting negotiations in Saudi Arabia may continue to

fuel a positive news background, which will maintain the buying

of the rouble by speculative capital," said PSB Bank's analyst

Denis Popov.

The Russian currency is up about 20% against the dollar this

year, mostly on expectations of easing of geopolitical tensions

between Russia and the West.