6 days ago
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday for anticipated talks with Russian officials aimed at ending Moscow’s nearly three-year war in Ukraine.
The discussions follow a phone call last week between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which Trump directed senior officials to begin negotiations on the war—a key pledge of his presidential campaign.
Riyadh, which is also engaged in talks with Washington over the future of the Gaza Strip, has played a role in early contacts between the Trump administration and Moscow, helping to facilitate a prisoner exchange last week.
Rubio, who spoke by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday, is set to meet Russian officials in Saudi Arabia alongside Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and White House Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff, according to a US lawmaker and a source who spoke to Reuters. It remains unclear which Russian officials will attend.
Russian newspaper Kommersant, citing unnamed sources, reported that the talks would take place on Tuesday in Riyadh.
These meetings mark some of the first high-level, in-person discussions between US and Russian officials in years and are expected to pave the way for a potential meeting between Trump and Putin.
Speaking on Sunday, Rubio stated that the coming weeks and days would reveal whether Putin is serious about pursuing peace.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also in the region. He arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday and has expressed intentions to visit Saudi Arabia and Turkey, though no dates have been confirmed. Zelensky said he has no plans to meet with US or Russian officials, and Ukraine is not believed to be invited to the Saudi-hosted talks.
In Saudi Arabia, Rubio is also expected to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), with discussions likely to include Trump’s proposal for the resettlement of Palestinian residents of Gaza in other Arab nations and US-led reconstruction efforts.
That proposal has sparked widespread anger across the Arab world and raised fears among Palestinians of being forcibly displaced from the coastal enclave.
Gaza has suffered immense devastation since war erupted following the October 7, 2023, attack by Iran-backed Hamas militants on southern Israel, which killed approximately 1,200 people and saw 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. In response, Israel launched a military campaign that, according to Gaza health authorities, has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians. A fragile ceasefire, reached last month, remains in place.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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