US, Russia to meet in Saudi Arabia over Ukraine war
US AND Russian officials will meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to start talks aimed at ending Moscow’s nearly three-year war in Ukraine, a US lawmaker and a source familiar with the planning said on Saturday (Feb 15).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who met US Vice-President JD Vance in Germany on Friday, said Ukraine was not invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia and Kyiv would not engage with Russia before consulting with strategic partners.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz and White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Saudi Arabia, US Representative Michael McCaul told Reuters. It was not immediately clear who they will meet from Russia.
On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, McCaul said the aim of the talks was to arrange a meeting between US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky “to finally bring peace and end this conflict”.
A source with knowledge of the plans confirmed the planned talks in Saudi Arabia between US and Russian officials. The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump, who took office on Jan 20, has repeatedly vowed to swiftly end the Ukraine war. He made separate phone calls to Putin and Zelensky on Wednesday, leaving Washington’s European allies alarmed that they will be cut out of any peace process.
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Those fears were largely confirmed on Saturday when Trump’s Ukraine envoy said that Europe won’t have a seat at the table, after Washington sent a questionnaire to European capitals to ask what they could contribute to security guarantees for Kyiv.
Earlier on Saturday, Rubio spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. They agreed on regular contacts to prepare for a meeting between Putin and Trump, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said.
Zelensky said on Friday that he would visit the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, but did not say when. However, the Ukrainian leader said he had no plans to meet US or Russian officials during those visits.
On Sunday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France Inter radio that French President Emmanuel Macron will host a meeting of European leaders on Monday to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
Five European diplomats said the meeting would include France, Britain, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain and Denmark, which would represent Baltic and Scandinavian countries.
On Saturday, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in an interview with state TV broadcast that European countries will not create one unified army in response to threats from Russia.
Earlier, Zelensky had called for the creation of a European army, saying the continent could no longer be sure of protection from the US and would only get respect from Washington with a strong military.
Asked about the possibility of the creation of a European army, Sikorski told TVP World that “we should be careful with this term because people understand different things”.
“If you understand by it the unification of national armies, it will not happen,” he said. “But I have been an advocate for Europe, for the European Union, to develop its own defence capabilities.”
He said the EU was currently forming a reinforced brigade.
“If the US wants us to step up in defence, it should have a national component, a Nato component, but I also believe a European EU component, EU subsidies for the defence industry to build up our capacity to produce, but also an EU force worthy of its name,” Sikorski said.
Moscow controls a fifth of Ukraine and has been slowly advancing in the east for months, while Kyiv’s smaller army grapples with manpower shortages and tries to hold a chunk of territory in western Russia.
Russia has demanded Kyiv cede territory and become permanently neutral under any peace deal. Ukraine demands Russia withdraw from captured land and wants North Atlantic Treaty Organization membership or equivalent security guarantees to prevent attack by Moscow.
The US and Europe have given Ukraine tens of billions of dollars in military aid since the war started. Trump has said he backs Ukraine but is seeking security for US funding for Kyiv.
The US and Ukraine are currently negotiating a deal that could open up Ukraine’s vast natural wealth to US investment. Three sources said the US proposed taking ownership of 50 per cent of Ukraine’s critical minerals. Zelenskiy said on Saturday that the draft deal did not contain the security provisions Kyiv needed.
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