Trump’s team heads to Saudi Arabia to prepare Ukraine-Russia negotiations

According to an anonymous Republican lawmaker and two American officials, senior members of Trump’s administration are heading to Saudi Arabia to begin peace negotiations with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators.

Politico states that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz will soon join Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, the president’s envoy for the Middle East, to start negotiations on ending the war.

However, according to the media, Trump’s special envoy for Russian-Ukrainian negotiations, Keith Kellogg, will not be present during these talks.

Officials also stated that Trump's team has no plans to involve representatives of other major European countries in the negotiations. This could upset NATO allies, who have publicly urged President Trump to ensure they have a seat at the negotiating table.

The media notes that the meeting could be a significant moment in Trump’s pursuit of a peace process and would also mark the first major meeting between Russian and Ukrainian representatives since the war began in 2022.

Earlier today, Bloomberg reported that high-ranking US and Russian officials will meet in Saudi Arabia next week.

Moreover, on February 13, President Trump himself stated that representatives of the US, Ukraine, and Russia were expected to hold a meeting in Saudi Arabia next week.

However, a source within the Ukrainian presidential team told RBC-Ukraine that Ukraine had no plans to conduct negotiations in Saudi Arabia next week.

It is also worth noting that yesterday, Saudi Arabia expressed its willingness to host a meeting between Trump and Putin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also commented on the rumors about potential negotiations in Saudi Arabia regarding Ukraine. According to him, "this is not a serious discussion."