Marco Rubio to meet Ukrainian counterparts in Saudi Arabia this week

US Secretary of State will also have a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a joint session of Congress in Washington. AP

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Saudi Arabia from March 10-12 for talks with senior Ukrainian government officials, a statement from the State Department said.

Mr Rubio will also have a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the statement from department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce, released on Sunday, said.

He will then travel to Canada for the March 12-14 G7 foreign ministers' meeting, it added.

Mr Rubio spoke to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Friday and said President Donald Trump wanted to an end to the Russia-Ukraine war as soon as possible.

Mr Trump has paused military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after a White House clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on February 28.

Mr Zelenskyy has said that he will also visit Saudi Arabia for a Monday meeting with Prince Mohammed and that Ukrainian diplomatic and military representatives would meet the US team on Tuesday.