US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Saudi Arabia to meet with Russian officials, aiming to arrange a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The talks are expected to focus on ending the nearly three-year war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated that Ukraine was not invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia and would only engage with Russia after consulting with strategic partners. Trump has repeatedly vowed to swiftly end the conflict, but European allies are concerned that they will be cut out of any peace process.
The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the planned talks. Earlier, Rubio spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, agreeing on regular contacts to prepare for a meeting between Putin and Trump.
Russia has demanded Kyiv cede territory and become permanently neutral under any peace deal, while Ukraine demands Russia’s withdrawal from captured land and NATO membership or equivalent security guarantees to prevent an attack by Moscow. The US and Europe have provided Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars in military aid since the war started.
The planned talks come as Ukraine is currently negotiating a deal with the US that could open up its vast natural wealth to US investment, including taking ownership of 50% of critical minerals. However, Zelenskiy stated that the draft deal did not contain the security provisions Kyiv needed.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-team-start-russia-ukraine-peace-talks-saudi-arabia-coming-days-politico-2025-02-15