US and Russia to meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss Ukraine

Kyiv was not invited to the talks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said

Newspapers showing Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, at a newsstand in a street in Moscow, Russia. Reuters

US and Russian officials will meet in Saudi Arabia over the next week to commence talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, a US politician and sources said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country – where Moscow launched a war about three years ago – was not invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia, adding that Kyiv would not engage with Russia without prior consultation with its partners.

US Representative Michael McCaul told Reuters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference that the aim of the talks was to arrange a meeting between US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mr Zelenskyy to bring about peace. A source also confirmed to Reuters that the talks are being planned in Saudi Arabia between unnamed US and Russian officials.

On Wednesday Mr Trump agreed in a phone call with Mr Putin to start negotiating an end to the war, in a sweeping reversal of US policy in place since the fighting broke out three years ago.

He said the pair had a “lengthy and highly productive phone call” and that teams from the US and Russia would start negotiations immediately. Mr Trump said he would probably meet Mr Putin in Saudi Arabia in the “not-too-distant future”.

Mr Trump added that his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff would lead the negotiations.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Mr Witkoff will head to Saudi Arabia for ceasefire talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, US officials said Saturday, without giving details on when the meeting would happen.

Mr Rubio was already due to visit Saudi Arabia as part of his first tour of the Middle East which began on Saturday when he arrived in Israel.

The top US diplomat also had a call Saturday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in which he “reaffirmed President Trump's commitment to finding an end to the conflict in Ukraine”, spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.

US envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said it was not realistic for European states to be involved.

Since taking office on January 20, Mr Trump has said he seeks to bring a swift end to the war in Ukraine. However, recent developments have left European states feeling sidelined and moving urgently for a seat at the negotiating table.

Speaking at the conference in Munich, Mr Zelenskyy called for the creation of a European army, saying they could no longer rely on the US. “We can't rule out the possibility that America might say no to Europe on issues that threaten it,” he said.

“I really believe that time has come. The Armed Forces of Europe must be created.”

On Friday, Mr Zelenskyy met US Vice President JD Vance on the sidelines of the conference, seeking to ensure Kyiv does not remain sidelined by Mr Trump and Mr Putin.

“No decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine. No decisions about Europe without Europe,” Mr Zelenskyy said in his speech.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday said Europe “must take on a greater role in Nato” and work with the US to “secure Ukraine's future”.

His comments came ahead of an expected gathering of European leaders in Paris on Monday, although France has yet to confirm the meeting. A spokesman for French President Emmanuel Macron's office told AFP “discussions” were continuing over a “possible informal meeting”.

Nato chief Mark Rutte said the planned meeting in Paris “would focus on defence spending and planning so that “when a deal is reached in Ukraine, that we have absolute clarity what Europe can contribute”.