President Donald Trump and his administration are set to spend another busy week as negotiations begin over the end of the Russian-Ukraine war.
Trump is sending a small number of US authorities to Saudi Arabia this week to begin negotiations on a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, told Fox News on Sunday morning that he and national security adviser Mike Waltz will travel to Saudi Arabia on Sunday evening. He will attend last week's International Munich Security Conference and meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Sunday.
The Saudi Arabia meeting comes after Trump announced last Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to launch peace talks “instantly.”
“We'll have a meeting in Saudi Arabia next week,” Trump told the media at a press conference Thursday. “Not with myself or with President Putin, but with the highest officials. And Ukraine will be part of it. And we will see if we can end that war. It's a terrible war. It was a vicious and bloody war.
Russia and Ukraine have been at war since February 2022, when Russia first invaded its neighbouring countries. Trump had said on the 2024 campaign trail that if he was re-elected he would end the war, but claimed that it hadn't started if he were in the oval office at the time.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump (Contributor | Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
Trump has accused a team of US officials to hold a peace conference at his direction in Saudi Arabia, Witkov told Fox News' Maria Bartilomo on Sunday.
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“I'm going tonight. I'm traveling with my national security adviser. I'll hold a meeting at the direction of the president, Witkov said.
Waltz, Ratcliffe, Rubio, Witkoff (Getty Images)
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State Trump headed to the Daytona 500 after a weekend in Mar Arago, Florida. There, fans erupted in cheers as the Air Force flew through Daytona International Speedway. Trump is the first president to attend two Daytona 500 races at Daytona International Speedway, where he previously attended the 2020 race.
President Donald Trump will shake hands with NASCAR Hall of Fame Driver Richard Petty on February 16, 2025 at the Daytona 500. (AP Photo/John Rouse)
Trump's schedule this week could also include a meeting with British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer, who requested a visit with the White House president.
Trump told the media on Friday that he spoke to the British prime minister and accepted a request to meet at the White House.
“We're going to have a friendly meeting, very good. There are a lot of good things happening to us. But he asked me to come and see me and I accepted his question,' Trump said.
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Trump said the meeting will be held “quickly,” suggesting that either this week or the next week will happen. It comes shortly after Trump announced his “mutual tariff” plan on Thursday and announcing a “mutual tariff” plan that imposes “fair and mutual” tariffs on all major US trading partners, but details are clear It has not been made.
“In trade, I decided for the purpose of fairness. We will charge mutual customs dutiesWhatever the country charges the United States, we mean we charge them. In other words, they charge us taxes or duties, and we charge them the exact same taxes or duties, very simple,” Trump said. White House of customs plans.
British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer (AP)
In terms of energy policy, Trump established the National Energy Control Council on Friday. This is expected to “unleash” energy independence.
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“We have more energy than any other country, and now we're unleashing it,” Trump said Friday when he signed an executive order to establish the Energy Council. “I call it liquid gold under our feet, and we're going to take advantage of it.”
Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council under the Second Trump administration, said that even if there is action this week, the council will soon work quickly to make US energy dominant. I've previewed it.
“What I'm hoping to see is next week's action of shocking people about how good it is for Americans last week,” Hassett said on Friday to Trump from his oval office. He spoke.
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Trump's fourth week inauguration follows that he has already signed 65 executive orders.
