US, Russia officials to meet in Saudi Arabia over Ukraine war – World
US and Russian officials will meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to start talks aimed at ending Moscow’s nearly three-year war in Ukraine, a US lawmaker and a source familiar with the planning said on Saturday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who met with US Vice President JD Vance in Germany on Friday, said Ukraine was not invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia and Kyiv would not engage with Russia before consulting with strategic partners.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Saudi Arabia, US Representative Michael McCaul told Reuters. It was not immediately clear who they would meet from Russia.
On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, McCaul said the aim of the talks was to arrange a meeting between US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskiy “to finally bring peace and end this conflict”.
A source with knowledge of the plans confirmed the planned talks in Saudi Arabia between US and Russian officials. The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But Rubio had already been due to visit Saudi Arabia as part of his first tour of the Middle East, which began yesterday when he arrived in Israel, an AFP journalist reported.
Rubio earlier on Saturday had a telephone call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, in which he “reaffirmed President Trump’s commitment to finding an end to the conflict in Ukraine”, the State Department said.
They agreed on regular contacts to prepare for a meeting between Putin and Trump, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said.
Former property developer Witkoff was heavily involved in a prisoner exchange deal earlier this week that paved the way for the call between Trump and Putin.
Witkoff even travelled to Moscow to bring home US detainee Marc Fogel.
In a social media post announcing the Putin call earlier this week, Trump had said he had tasked Rubio, Waltz, Witkoff and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief John Ratcliffe to immediately get to work on a deal with Russia to end the Ukraine war.
Trump, who took office on January 20, has repeatedly vowed to swiftly end the Ukraine war. He made separate phone calls to Putin and Zelenskiy on Wednesday, leaving Washington’s European allies alarmed that they would be cut out of any peace process.
Those fears were largely confirmed on Saturday when Trump’s Ukraine envoy said Europe won’t have a seat at the table, after Washington sent a questionnaire to European capitals to ask what they could contribute to security guarantees for Kyiv.
Minerals deal
Zelenskiy said on Friday he would visit the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye but did not say when. However, the Ukrainian leader said he had no plans to meet with US or Russian officials during those visits.
Moscow controls a fifth of Ukraine and has been slowly advancing in the east for months, while Kyiv’s smaller army grapples with manpower shortages and tries to hold a chunk of territory in western Russia.
Russia has demanded Kyiv cede territory and become permanently neutral under any peace deal. Ukraine demands Russia withdraw from captured land and wants Nato membership or equivalent security guarantees to prevent attack by Moscow.
The United States and Europe have given Ukraine tens of billions of dollars in military aid since the war started. Trump has said he backs Ukraine but is seeking security for US funding for Kyiv.
The US and Ukraine are currently negotiating a deal that could open up Ukraine’s vast natural wealth to US investment. Three sources said the US proposed taking ownership of 50 per cent of Ukraine’s critical minerals. Zelenskiy said on Saturday that the draft deal did not contain the security provisions Kyiv needed.
