Discussions on Ending the Russia-Ukraine War Begin, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio Arrives in Saudi Arabia

Discussions on Ending the Russia-Ukraine War Begin, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio Arrives in Saudi Arabia

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, where he will discuss the near three-year Russia-Ukraine war with Russian officials. These talks come after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin and instructed senior officials to begin discussions on ending the war. Trump had repeatedly pledged to end this war during his presidential campaign.

Riyadh, which is also involved in talks with Washington over the future of the Gaza Strip, has played an important role in early contacts between the Trump administration and Moscow, helping to facilitate a prisoner swap last week.

Rubio, who spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov by phone on Saturday, will meet with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia. He will be joined by Trump's National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. It is still unclear which Russian representatives they will meet. Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that the talks will take place on Tuesday in Riyadh.

This could be the first high-level face-to-face discussions in years between Russia and the U.S., paving the way for a future meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents.

Rubio said on Sunday that the coming weeks and days will determine whether Putin is truly committed to peace.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is currently on a Middle East tour. He arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday and plans to visit Saudi Arabia and Turkey, though no dates have been set for his visits. He has no plans to meet with Russian or U.S. officials, and Ukraine is not expected to be present at the talks in Saudi Arabia.