Media report Trump administration officials travelling to Saudi Arabia for talks with Russia
Pravda Ukraine
Senior Trump administration officials are travelling to Saudi Arabia to begin peace talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators.
Source: Politico, citing Republican Congressman Michael McCaul and two US officials; Bloomberg, citing sources
Details: Politico reports Trump’s national security adviser Mike Volz will join Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the president’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in the coming days to begin talks to end the war.
At the same time, according to officials, Trump’s special representative for Ukraine-Russia talks, retired General Keith Kellogg, will not be present at the talks.
Officials also said that representatives of other major European powers are not expected to attend the talks.
Michael McCaul, a Republican lawmaker from Texas, confirmed Volz and Witkoff’s plans to join Rubio in Saudi Arabia to start talks between the two warring parties in a comment to Politico on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
Two US officials, who requested anonymity, confirmed the plans but did not disclose other details about the meetings, including which Ukrainian or Russian negotiators would be involved. A spokesman for the Ukrainian government and the State Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that senior officials from the US and Russia will meet next week in Saudi Arabia to prepare for a potential summit of leaders at the end of the month to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
The details of the meeting and the list of participants are still being worked out, but people briefed on the plans say the group is likely to consist of national security advisers. According to one person, the goal is to set a meeting date before the start of the holy month of Ramadan in March.
Another official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that most Europeans have not yet been informed of the talks.
“And while officials from Ukraine are expected, they also don’t appear to be fully in the loop on the preparations,” the article said.
Background:
- On 15 February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was unaware of the invitation to Saudi Arabia and expressed concern that the plan was developed outside Kyiv’s control.
- According to the newspaper’s sources, the Saudi authorities invited representatives of the United States, Russia and Ukraine to a meeting in Riyadh. The talks are being convened by Saudi National Security Adviser Musaed al-Aiban. However, the source added that the plans could change at the last minute.
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