US‑Russia peace talks on Ukraine begin in Saudi Arabia without Zelensky
On Monday, the American portal Axios, citing sources, reported that high-level talks between representatives of the US and Russian governments regarding ending the war in Ukraine will take place in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not invited to the Saudi meeting.
According to Axios, the high-level talks between representatives of the US and Russian governments about ending the war in Ukraine are scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. The US side will include Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a representative.
Other US government representatives will include the White House National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, and the US Presidential Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. Prior to arriving in Saudi Arabia, Rubio visited Israel.
The Russian side will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Presidential Advisor Yuri Ushakov, as stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not invited to the Saudi meeting, Axios highlighted.
It is strange to hold a meeting in such format before we had consultations with our strategic partners. As I remember Russia is not such a strategic partner – Zelensky said on Saturday in an interview with a portal journalist.
The only invitation Ukraine received was "through the reports in the media," a senior Ukrainian official quoted by Axios remarked.
US President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday that the peace talks process between Russia and Ukraine "was moving along," and Zelensky "will be involved" in the talks. On the same day, Witkoff stated that "Ukraine is part of the talks" and added, "I don't think it is about excluding anybody. It's about including everybody." The White House declined to comment on the matter, Axios reported.
