Saudi Arabia will not only provide Russian and American officials with a platform for the upcoming talks, but also intends to act as a mediator. This was reported on Sunday by CNN, citing sources.
According to their information, the meeting will take place on February 18, and the Saudi Arabian delegation will be headed by the kingdom’s national security adviser. The United States will be represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz, and the American leader’s special envoy for the Middle East Stephen Witkoff. An unnamed Ukrainian official told CNN that Kyiv will not be represented at these talks.
The television company notes that Saudi Arabia is given an important role in the Trump administration’s foreign policy. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, in particular, contributed to the release of American Mark Vogel, who was serving a prison sentence in Russia for drug smuggling, and in 2017, Trump made his first foreign visit as president to Saudi Arabia, CNN recalls.
Earlier, Witkoff said that on the evening of February 16, as part of a US delegation, he would go to Saudi Arabia for talks with Russia and hoped for serious progress in resolving the Ukrainian conflict.