The US Secretary of State and National Security Adviser will participate in the negotiations, Kommersant has said
View of Riyadh city center from the terrace of the Al Faisaliah Tower. © Bernd von Jutrczenka/picture alliance via Getty Images
Ukraine talks between US and Russian delegations are slated to take place in in the Saudi capital, Riyadh on February 18, Kommersant newspaper wrote on Sunday.
The American side is expected to include Secretary of State Mark Rubio, US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and the US President’s Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, according to the Russian media outlet.
Politico had reported on Saturday that the American trio will travel to Saudi Arabia to start peace talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, but didn’t specify an exact date. It noted that the special envoy for Ukraine-Russia talks, Keith Kellogg, wouldn’t be attending.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump could meet in Saudi Arabia by the end of this month, Bloomberg wrote, noting that this week’s American delegation is likely to be comprised of national security advisers tasked with securing a date for the top-level meeting before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which starts this year on February 28.
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These reports come just days after Trump and Putin held a phone conversation which marked the first known direct interaction between the US and Russian heads of state since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. The presidents agreed to continue dialogue and arrange in-person meetings in a third country as well as state visits going forward.
Speaking to the press hours after his phone call with Putin on Wednesday, President Trump stated that he and his Russian counterpart would “probably” meet in Saudi Arabia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in return, has confirmed that Riyadh was mentioned in the conversation between the Russian and US presidents as a possible location for the summit. At the same time, the Kremlin official noted that there is no final decision concerning where they would meet.