U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday for expected negotiations with Russian officials aimed at ending Moscow’s nearly three-year war in Ukraine.
The talks follow a phone conversation last week between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which Trump directed top officials to begin negotiations. Trump has repeatedly vowed to bring the war to an end since his presidential campaign.
Riyadh, which is also engaged in discussions with Washington over the future of the Gaza Strip, has played a key role in early contacts between the Trump administration—sworn in on January 20—and Moscow. The kingdom recently helped facilitate a prisoner swap between the two nations.
A U.S. lawmaker confirmed that Rubio, who spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov by phone on Saturday, will meet Russian officials in Saudi Arabia alongside Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and White House Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff.
Russian media reports indicate that the talks will take place on Tuesday in Riyadh and will mark one of the first high-level in-person meetings between Russian and U.S. officials in years. The discussions are expected to set the stage for a future meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents.
On Sunday, Rubio stated that the coming days and weeks would determine whether Putin is genuinely committed to peace.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, announced plans to visit Saudi Arabia and Turkey. However, he clarified that he has no scheduled meetings with Russian or U.S. officials, and Ukraine is not expected to participate in the Saudi-hosted talks.
