Axios: Russian and US delegations to meet in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday
Pravda Ukraine
The US news website Axios reports that senior US and Russian officials will meet in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, 18 February, to discuss a possible agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
Source: Axios, citing sources
Details: Axios noted that this “meeting will be another significant step in improving US-Russia relations” following a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Axios added that the announced meeting “created a lot of anxiety and frustration in the Ukrainian government”, who are concerned about negotiations “behind Kyiv’s back”.
The news website says that the US delegation will include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House National Security Adviser Michael Waltz and Ambassador to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
The source said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is likely to attend on behalf of Russia.
Background:
- Late last week, reports indicated that senior Trump administration officials were travelling to Saudi Arabia to begin peace talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators.
- On 13 February, the Kremlin announced that it had begun putting together a negotiating team to arrange a meeting between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump.
- President Trump has assigned Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to lead negotiations with Russia.
- Bloomberg reported that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is assembling a team of heavyweight negotiators with decades of experience in high-level diplomacy to engage with representatives of the US president, who is seeking to broker a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that both Ukraine and European representatives will be involved in the negotiation process to end the war in Ukraine once it begins.
- US President Donald Trump said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be involved in negotiations to end the war.
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