Trump envoy confirms Saudi Arabia talks with Russia

Negotiations to end the Ukraine conflict will start in the coming days, according to the Washington Post

White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has confirmed there will be talks on ending the Ukraine conflict in Saudi Arabia. He will be heading to the kingdom on Sunday alongside US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.

“I’m leaving tonight,” Witkoff stated in an interview with Fox News. “We’re hopeful that we’ll achieve significant progress,” he added. Witkoff did not disclose whom they would be meeting with or the topics of discussion.

Senior US officials are scheduled to meet with their Russian counterparts in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, next week to initiate discussions on ending the Ukraine conflict, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed US official.

The upcoming talks in Saudi Arabia will be among the first high-level, in-person discussions between Russian and US officials in years, serving as a precursor to a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Donald Trump. 

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Ukraine not invited to Russia-US talks – Zelensky

The two presidents spoke by phone on Wednesday, marking their first known direct conversation since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. On Saturday, the countries’ top diplomats followed up with a call to discuss “preparations for a potential high-level Russian-American summit.” In its article on Saturday, Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources, said that the US delegation has presumably been tasked with securing a date for the meeting before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which starts this year on February 28.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky stated earlier that Kiev had not been invited to the negotiations in Saudi Arabia. However, Economy Minister Yulia Svirydenko announced on Sunday in a Facebook post that a Ukrainian government delegation had arrived in the kingdom. “There will be dozens of meetings in the coming days to prepare Vladimir Zelensky’s visit to Saudi Arabia,” she stated. Svirydenko added that the delegation aims to strengthen economic ties and lay the groundwork “to sign important economic agreements with countries in the region.”

Addressing concerns that Ukraine was being sidelined, Witkoff dismissed the notion, emphasizing that Ukrainian officials had engaged with several senior US officials during the Munich Security Conference over the weekend.

According to Politico, there are “no plans for representatives from other major European powers to join the talks,” while Bloomberg reported that European officials had not even been notified.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in an interview with CBS on Sunday, mentioned that when “real negotiations” for peace commence, Ukraine and the EU will be included in the dialogue.

According to the Washington Post, key US officials expected to be in Riyadh include Rubio, Waltz, and Witkoff. 

Politico quoted US Congressman Michael McCaul as confirming the makeup of the US team. According to the outlet, “there are no plans for representatives from other major European powers to join the talks.”