US and Russian officials are set to meet in Saudi Arabia to begin talks aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security advisor Mike Waltz and White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Saudi Arabia to meet representatives from Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that his country would not be party to the talks. Representatives of the Trump administration have also confirmed that European nations will not be party to the peace process.
On Friday, at the Munich Security Conference, US Representative Michael McCaul said the goal of the meeting would be to arrange a meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian premier Vladimir Putin “to finally bring peace and end this conflict.”
On Saturday, Rubio spoke with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and agreed to regular contacts to prepare for a meeting between Putin and Trump.
During the election campaign, President Trump vowed to bring the Ukraine war, which began in 2022, to a swift end.
The US and Ukraine are currently negotiating a deal that could see the US taking ownership of half of Ukraine’s critical minerals. President Zelensky said on Saturday that a draft deal did not contain the security provisions Ukraine needs.