U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff are expected to meet this week with official Russian representatives in Saudi Arabia to discuss a path to ending the war in Ukraine, according to The New York Times. The report noted these are the first significant talks between the two world powers regarding the conflict.
Senior Trump administration officials will hold meetings with Russian delegates, even as Ukrainian leaders express concern over a potentially problematic agreement.
The meeting will occur less than a week after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Following their conversation, Trump told reporters that discussions on ending the war in Ukraine would be held in Saudi Arabia. The plans for this week’s meetings in Riyadh were provided by someone familiar with the schedule.
On Friday, Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. On Saturday, Rubio also spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov while Rubio was en route to Israel. Their conversation marked the final step in the Trump administration’s effort to counter former President Joe Biden’s attempt to diplomatically isolate Russia.
Rubio “confirmed President Trump’s commitment to finding an end to the conflict in Ukraine,” said Tammy Bruce, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, summarizing the call. “In addition, they discussed the possibility of working together on several other bilateral issues.”
According to the Russian summary of the conversation, the two foreign ministers agreed to address obstacles to cooperation on a range of topics created by the Biden administration. It was also noted that Rubio and Lavrov will hold regular talks and prepare for a summit between Presidents Trump and Putin, with both governments working to restore the operations of their respective diplomatic missions.
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The Russian summary further stated that both sides are committed to engaging on current international issues, including settlements near Ukraine, the situation in the Israel region, the broader Middle East, and other areas.
On Wednesday, Trump announced that he had spoken by phone with Putin — the first time he unambiguously and in detail confirmed that he had spoken with the Russian leader. This call comes after years during which Western leaders, including Biden, avoided direct conversations with Putin following the invasion of Ukraine. In recent weeks, officials on both sides had hinted at such discussions without giving specific dates or further details.
In a post on his social network, Truth Social, Trump stated that the two leaders discussed issues concerning Ukraine.
"Deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine. President Putin even used my very strong Campaign motto of, 'COMMON SENSE.' We both believe very strongly in it. We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations," Trump wrote in the post.