Marco Rubio to lead US talks with Russian FM on Ukraine in Saudi Arabia

The talks will be the first high-level, in-person discussions in years, leading up to a US-Russia presidential meeting

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Russia said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold talks with top US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on Tuesday that will focus on ending the fighting in Ukraine and restoring “the whole complex” of Russia-US ties.

Rubio arrived in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Monday on a previously planned trip. US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who are set to arrive later on Monday, will be joining him at the talks with the Russians.

The talks will be among the first high-level, in-person discussions in years between Russian and US officials and are meant to precede a meeting between the US and Russian presidents.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser to President Vladimir Putin, would fly to the Saudi capital Riyadh on Monday.

“They are expected to hold a meeting with their American counterparts on Tuesday, which will focus primarily on restoring the entire complex of Russian-American relations,” Peskov said.

“It will also be devoted to the preparation of possible negotiations on the Ukrainian settlement and the organisation of a meeting between the two presidents,” he added

Peskov declined to comment on a Reuters report that Kirill Dmitriev, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund chief, would also meet the US delegation.

Peskov declined to comment when asked if Putin and US President Donald Trump would meet face-to-face in Saudi Arabia later this month.

US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed that Rubio, Waltz, and Witkoff will meet with the Russian delegation in Riyadh on Tuesday.

The talks come after President Donald Trump last week spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone and ordered top officials to begin negotiations on the conflict, which he repeatedly vowed to end during his presidential campaign.

Riyadh, which is also involved in talks with Washington over the future of the Gaza Strip, has played a role in early contacts between the Trump administration, which took office on January 20, and Moscow, helping to secure a prisoner swap last week.

US top diplomat Rubio, who spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday, said on Sunday that the coming weeks and days would determine whether Putin is serious about making peace.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also in the region. Zelensky, who arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, said he also intended to visit Saudi Arabia and Turkey, but no dates were set.

He said he had no plans to meet Russian or US officials and Ukraine is not believed to be invited to the Saudi-hosted talks.

Gaza talks

On the agenda for Rubio’s meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is likely to be Trump’s proposal for the Palestinian residents of Gaza to be resettled in other Arab nations and for the US to lead the reconstruction of their home.

That proposal has infuriated the Arab World and heightened fears among Palestinians in Gaza of being driven out of the coastal strip.

Gaza has been devastated by fighting that broke out when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

The offensive Israel launched in response killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, before an agreement reached last month brought a fragile ceasefire.

Saudi Arabia, alongside other Arab nations, has rejected any plan that involves resettling Palestinians, and Riyadh is spearheading Arab efforts to develop a counterproposal, which could involve a Gulf-led reconstruction fund and a deal to sideline Hamas.

Salman has also insisted that Saudi Arabia would not normalise ties with Israel — a long-standing goal of Washington — without an agreement on a pathway to a Palestinian state.

Rubio visited Israel on Sunday and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pledging support for Israel in its regional rivalry with Iran.