Rubio on his way to Saudi for talks with Russia

AgenciesFebruary 17, 2025

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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.

It was not immediately clear who they would meet from Russia.

Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that the talks would take place on Tuesday in the Saudi capital Riyadh, citing unnamed sources.

The talks will be among the first high-level in-person discussions in years between Russian and U.S. officials and are meant to precede a meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents.

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Rubio on Sunday said the coming weeks and days would determine whether Putin is serious about making peace.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is also in the region.

Zelenskiy, who arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, said he also intended to visit Saudi Arabia and Turkey, but no dates were set.

He said he had no plans to meet Russian or U.S. officials and Ukraine is not believed to be invited to the Saudi-hosted talks.