US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Saudi Arabia on Monday forward of anticipated talks with Russian officers geared toward ending Moscow’s almost three-year struggle in Ukraine.
The talks come after President Donald Trump final week spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by telephone and ordered high officers to start negotiations on the struggle, which he repeatedly vowed to finish throughout his presidential marketing campaign.
Riyadh, which can be concerned in talks with Washington over the way forward for the Gaza Strip, has performed a task in early contacts between the Trump administration, which took workplace on January 20, and Moscow, serving to to safe a prisoner swap final week.
US high diplomat Rubio, who spoke by telephone along with his Russian counterpart International Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday, will meet Russian officers in Saudi Arabia alongside Trump’s nationwide safety adviser Mike Waltz and White Home Center East envoy Steve Witkoff, a US lawmaker and a supply informed Reuters.
It was not instantly clear who they might meet from Russia.
Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that the talks would happen on Tuesday within the Saudi capital Riyadh, citing unnamed sources.
The talks can be among the many first high-level in-person discussions in years between Russian and US officers and are supposed to precede a gathering between the US and Russian presidents.
Rubio on Sunday mentioned the approaching weeks and days would decide whether or not Putin is severe about making peace.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy can be within the area. Zelenskiy, who arrived within the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, mentioned he additionally supposed to go to Saudi Arabia and Turkey, however no dates have been set.
He mentioned he had no plans to fulfill Russian or US officers and Ukraine will not be believed to be invited to the Saudi-hosted talks.
GAZA TALKS
Rubio is predicted to fulfill Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) in Saudi Arabia. On the agenda is more likely to be Trump’s proposal for the Palestinian residents of Gaza to be resettled in different Arab nations and for the US to steer reconstruction of their house.
That proposal has infuriated the Arab World and heightened fears amongst Palestinians in Gaza of being pushed out of the coastal strip.
Gaza has been devastated by the struggle that broke out when Iran-backed militants Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 folks and taking 250 hostage, in response to Israeli tallies.
The offensive Israel launched in response killed greater than 48,000 Palestinians, in response to Gaza well being authorities, earlier than an settlement reached final month introduced a fragile ceasefire.
Saudi Arabia, alongside different Arab nations, has rejected any plan that includes resettling Palestinians, and Riyadh is spearheading Arab efforts to develop a counterproposal, which might contain a Gulf-led reconstruction fund and a deal to sideline Hamas.
MbS has additionally insisted that Saudi Arabia wouldn’t normalize ties with Israel – a longstanding objective of Washington – with out an settlement on a pathway to a Palestinian state.
Rubio visited Israel on Sunday and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pledging help for Israel in its regional rivalry with Iran.
