Marco Rubio in Saudi Arabia before Russia talks to end Ukraine war

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Saudi Arabia on Monday ahead of expected talks with Russian officials aimed at ending Moscow’s nearly three-year war in Ukraine.

The talks come after President Donald Trump last week spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone and ordered top officials to begin negotiations on the war, which he repeatedly vowed to end during his presidential campaign.

Riyadh, which is also involved in talks with Washington over the future of the Gaza Strip, has played a role in early contacts between the Trump administration, which took office on January 20, and Moscow, helping to secure a prisoner swap last week.

US top diplomat Rubio, who spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday, will meet Russian officials in Saudi Arabia alongside Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz and White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, a U.S. lawmaker and a source told Reuters. It was not immediately clear who they would meet from Russia.

Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that the talks would take place on Tuesday in the Saudi capital Riyadh, citing unnamed sources.

The talks will be among the first high-level in-person discussions in years between Russian and US officials and are meant to precede a meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents.

Marco Rubio on Sunday said the coming weeks and days would determine whether Putin is serious about making peace.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is also in the region. Zelenskiy, who arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, said he also intended to visit Saudi Arabia and Turkey, but no dates were set. He said he had no plans to meet Russian or U.S. officials and Ukraine is not believed to be invited to the Saudi-hosted talks.

GAZA TALKS

Marco Rubio is expected to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) in Saudi Arabia. On the agenda is likely to be Trump’s proposal for the Palestinian residents of Gaza to be resettled in other Arab nations and for the U.S. to lead reconstruction of their home.

That proposal has infuriated the Arab World and heightened fears among Palestinians in Gaza of being driven out of the coastal strip.

Gaza has been devastated by the war that broke out when Iran-backed militants Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage, according to Israeli tallies. The offensive Israel launched in response killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, before an agreement reached last month brought a fragile ceasefire.

Saudi Arabia, alongside other Arab nations, has rejected any plan that involves resettling Palestinians, and Riyadh is spearheading Arab efforts to develop a counterproposal, which could involve a Gulf-led reconstruction fund and a deal to sideline Hamas.

MbS has also insisted that Saudi Arabia would not normalize ties with Israel – a longstanding goal of Washington – without an agreement on a pathway to a Palestinian state.

Marco Rubio visited Israel on Sunday and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pledging support for Israel in its regional rivalry with Iran.