Rubio on his way to Saudi for talks with Russia

WASHINGTON: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Saudi Arabia on Monday ahead of expected talks with Russian officials aimed at ending Moscow’s nearly three-year war in Ukraine.

Rubio is joined by US national security adviser Mike Waltz and the US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.

It’s not known exactly who Rubio will meet – but on Saturday, he spoke on the phone to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

And last night, US President Donald Trump said he himself could meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia “very soon”.

“I think he [Putin] wants to stop fighting,” Trump told reporters after a flight on Air Force One last night.

“I think he wants to end it, and they want to end it fast. Both of them,” he said, adding, “Zelensky wants to end it too”.

Asked whether he believes Putin wants to seize all of Ukraine, Trump said: “That was my question to him.

“If he’s going to go on… that would have caused me a big problem.”

Last week, Trump said he had a “lengthy and highly productive” phone call with Putin about ending the war.