US Secretary of State Rubio arrives in Saudi Arabia for talks with Russian officials
Photo: Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State (Getty Images)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has arrived in Saudi Arabia ahead of expected negotiations with Russian officials aimed at ending Russia’s nearly three-year war against Ukraine, reports Reuters.
The talks will begin after President Donald Trump spoke with Vladimir Putin last week and instructed senior officials to initiate negotiations on the war, which he has repeatedly promised to end during his presidential campaign.
Riyadh, also engaged in negotiations with Washington over the future of the Gaza Strip, has played a role in early contacts between the Trump administration - sworn into office on January 20 - and Moscow, helping facilitate last week’s prisoner exchange.
The top US diplomat, Rubio, who has already spoken by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, is set to meet Russian officials in Saudi Arabia alongside Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and White House Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff. It remains unclear which Russian officials will participate in the talks.
The February 18 negotiations will be among the first high-level, in-person discussions between Russian and US officials in years and are expected to precede a potential meeting between the US and Russian presidents.
Rubio stated that the coming weeks and days will reveal whether Putin is genuinely interested in reaching a peace deal.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also in the region. Having arrived in the United Arab Emirates on January 16, he has announced plans to visit Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, though specific dates have yet to be set. He stated that he does not plan to meet with Russian or American officials, and Ukraine is not believed to have been invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia.
Talks on Gaza
Rubio is also expected to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia. The agenda will likely include Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinian residents of Gaza to other Arab countries and for the US to lead reconstruction efforts.
This proposal has sparked outrage across the Arab world and heightened concerns among Palestinians in Gaza about the possibility of being displaced from the coastal enclave.
Gaza has been devastated by war since Iran-backed Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages. Israel’s subsequent offensive paused after a deal was reached last month, leading to a fragile ceasefire.
Saudi Arabia, along with other Arab nations, has rejected any plan involving Palestinian resettlement. Riyadh is leading efforts among Arab countries to formulate a counterproposal, which may include a Gulf-led reconstruction fund and an operation to remove Hamas.
Mohammed bin Salman has also insisted that Saudi Arabia will not normalize relations with Israel - a long-standing US goal - without an agreement on a pathway to Palestinian statehood.
On January 16, Rubio visited Israel and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pledging US support for Israel in its regional rivalry with Iran.
Saudi Arabia has stated that it intends not only to provide a venue for the US-Russia talks but also to act as a mediator. The negotiations are scheduled to begin on February 18.
