US officials and Russia will dialogue in the Saudi capital about the end of the war in Ukraine, in the first high -level conversations in person in years among Russian and American representatives.
The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, arrived on Monday in Saudi Arabia before the conversations planned with senior Russian officials aimed at ending the war began almost three years ago by Moscow in Ukraine.
The conversations occur after US President Donald Trump spoke last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin and ordered high positions to begin negotiations about the war, which he promised to end repeatedly during his presidential campaign.
Riad, who also participates in conversations with Washington about the future of the Gaza Strip, has played a role in the first contacts between the Trump government, which took office on January 20, and Moscow, helping to ensure An exchange of prisoners last week.
The head of American diplomacy, who spoke on Saturday by phone with his Russian counterpart, Serguéi Lavrov; He leads the US delegation, which also includes Trump's national security advisor, Mike Waltz, and the envoy of the White House for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, told Reuters an American legislator and a source.
The Kremlin said he said that his Foreign Minister Lavrov will participate in the dialogue with Rubio, focused on ending the war in Ukraine and restoring “the entire complex” of relations between Russia and the United States.
Russian spokesman Dmitri Peskov informed journalists that Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov, foreign policy advisor to President Vladimir Putin, will travel Monday to the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
“It is expected that on Tuesday they will maintain a meeting with their American counterparts, which will focus mainly on the restoration of the entire complex of Russian-American relations,” said Peskov.
“It will also be dedicated to the preparation of possible negotiations on the arrangement in Ukraine and the organization of a meeting between the two presidents.”
It is one of the first high -level conversations in person in years among Russian and American representatives, and they are expected to precede a meeting between the presidents of both countries.
Rubio said Sunday that the next weeks and days will determine if Putin takes peace seriously.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also in the region. Zelenskyy, who arrived at the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, said he also intended to visit Saudi and Türkiye Arabia, but without setting dates.
He said that he did not plan to meet with Russian or American representatives, and it is not believed that Ukraine has been invited to the conversations sponsored by Saudi Arabia.
US President Donald Trump told journalists on Sunday that Zelenskyy “will be involved” in negotiations, but did not give more details at the moment.
(With information from Reuters and The Associated Press)