Secretary of State Marco Rubio will arrive in Saudi Arabia on Monday ahead of expected consultations with Russian officials aimed at ending Moscow's nearly three years of war in Ukraine.
The talks have repeatedly vowed to close during the presidential election after President Donald Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone last week and ordered the president to begin negotiations on the war.
Riyadh, who is also involved in talks with Washington about the future of the Gaza Strip, will play a role in early contact between the Trump administration and Moscow, which took office on January 20, to secure prisoner exchanges last week. It was helpful.
US diplomat Rubio spoke on the phone with Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday, and Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz and White House Middle, along with Saudi Russian officials. Along with East Endor Steve Wickoff, American Lawmakers and sources talk. Reuters.
It was not immediately clear who they would meet from Russia.
The Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that talks will take place in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, on Tuesday, citing an unknown source.
The talks are one of the first high-level face-to-face discussions of the year between Russian and US officials, and are intended to precede a meeting between the US and the Russian President.
Rubio said on Sunday that the coming weeks and days will decide whether Putin is serious about creating peace.
Ukrainian President Voldy Mirzelensky is also in the area. Zelenskiy, who arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, said he intends to visit Saudi Arabia and Turkey, but has not set a date.
He said there were no plans to meet Russian or US officials and that Ukraine was not expected to be invited to Saudi Arabia's consultations.
Gaza speaks
Rubio is expected to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in Saudi Arabia. On the agenda, it is likely Trump's proposal that Palestinians of Gaza will resettle in other Arab countries and that the US will lead the reconstruction of their homes.
The proposal infuriated the Arab world and raised fear among the Palestinians of Gaza being driven out of the coastal districts.
According to Israeli tally, the war that broke out when Hamas, an Iran-backed extremist, attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and attacking 250 people, led by the brink of Gaza. was devastated.
Gaza health officials say that offensive Israel killed more than 48,000 Palestinians before reaching last month, leading to a fragile ceasefire.
Saudi Arabia, along with other Arab countries, has rejected plans to include resettlement of Palestinians, with Riyadh in developing counter-propositions, including a Gulf-led Reconstruction Fund and contracts to Saidline Hamas. He leads the effort.
MBS also argues that Saudi Arabia will not normalize Washington's long-standing goal of ties with Israel without an agreement on the path to a Palestinian state.
Rubio visited Israel on Sunday to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and vowed to support Israel in his regional rivalry with Iran.
