US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, marking a new attempt at ending the war in Ukraine. The talks are aimed at involving Washington, Moscow, and Kyiv directly.
Rubio will be joined by national security adviser Mike Waltz and US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff. However, European countries were not invited to participate.
The move comes amid growing concern from European allies that the US is moving forward with peace talks without consulting them first. In response, Ukraine’s European allies are gathering in Paris next week for an emergency summit on the war.
US special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg stated that previous negotiations failed due to too many parties involved. The US diplomat also expressed hope that this time around, the talks would be more productive.
The upcoming talks follow a recent phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which revived direct contact with Moscow after a three-year freeze. Trump announced that negotiations to end the Ukraine conflict would begin immediately.
However, European allies are on high alert due to comments made by US Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference. Vance criticized European democracies for not doing enough to defend themselves, sparking concerns that the US is making concessions to Russia before a peace deal can be negotiated.
Ukraine has been seeking support from NATO and its own recovery of territory since Russia’s full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the creation of an “army of Europe” to counter rising concerns that Washington may no longer come to the continent’s aid.
Russia seized Crimea and part of the eastern Donbas region in 2014, leading to the current conflict.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2p7wj3yq1o