A high-level team from the Donald Trump administration will travel to Saudi Arabia to begin talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators seeking an agreement to end the war in Ukraine. The announcement followed a recent conversation between President Trump and Vladimir Putin.
The US delegation includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Middle East negotiator Steve Witkoff. This shift in US strategy has raised concerns in Kyiv and among European allies, who fear exclusion from negotiations about Ukraine's future.
In a social media post, President Trump stated he tasked Rubio, Waltz, Witkoff, and CIA chief John Ratcliffe to work on a deal with Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
Government officials confirmed the delegation's departure to the Middle East to initiate talks. Details regarding the timing of meetings remain undisclosed.
Secretary Rubio's visit to Saudi Arabia was already scheduled as part of his regional tour, commencing in Israel. He spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, reaffirming President Trump's commitment to ending the conflict, according to the State Department.
Steve Witkoff, a key figure in these negotiations, previously facilitated a prisoner exchange that secured the release of US citizen Marc Fogel.
Trump's diplomatic shift occurs amid tensions with the European Union and NATO. Exclusion of the EU from negotiations drew criticism, with leaders expressing concern over potential territorial concessions to Russia. France and Germany voiced apprehension that the US stance could undermine support for Ukraine.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed displeasure that President Trump called Putin without consulting him first. Zelenskyy also stated his willingness to negotiate, hinting at a possible exchange of territories occupied by Russia.
Trump's Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested Ukraine should consider ceding territory to Russia, deeming the demand to restore pre-2014 borders "unrealistic."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated he would like US President's special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, to accompany him to the front line in eastern Ukraine and report the realities on the ground to Donald Trump.
On Monday, a source in the Ukrainian presidency told AFP that Kellogg would travel to Ukraine on February 20 to develop a plan to end the three-year war as quickly as possible.
Trump's proposal demands that Kyiv renounce the Crimean peninsula, the occupied Donbas, and any aspiration to join NATO. An agreement that would seem to be drafted by Putin and in which Ukraine loses in all aspects. Zelenskyy's greatest fear is becoming a reality: a peace designed to suit Russia, forged in a bilateral negotiation in which Ukraine does not even participate and in which the European Union is isolated, without an essential ally like the United States.