High-ranking U.S. officials have traveled to Saudi Arabia to initiate negotiations with representatives from Russia and Ukraine in the coming days, reported Politico, citing American sources. Ukraine stated that it has not sent negotiators to Riyadh, according to Tengrinews.kz.
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz will soon join Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East Steve Vitkoff to commence discussions aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, the publication reveals.
According to American officials, Trump's special representative for the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, retired General Keith Kellogg, will not be attending the meeting.
It remains unclear who they will meet from Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry reported that U.S. Secretary of State Rubio spoke with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. They agreed on regular contacts to prepare for a meeting between Putin and Trump, as stated by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Officials also mentioned that there are no plans to invite representatives from other major European powers to the negotiations. Specifically, Trump's special representative for Ukraine stated that Europe will not have a seat at the negotiating table after Washington sent a questionnaire to European capitals asking what contributions they could make to ensure Ukraine's security.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine had not been invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia, and Kyiv would not engage with Russia without consultations with strategic partners.
Advisor to the head of Zelensky's office, Mykhailo Podolyak, reported that Ukraine did not send negotiators to Saudi Arabia.
"...There are no Ukrainian negotiators representing Ukraine in Saudi Arabia. There is nothing on the negotiating table that can be discussed today," Podolyak said in an interview with the "We are Ukraine" TV channel.
Bloomberg also reported that high-ranking officials from the U.S. and Russia will hold discussions next week, and a meeting between Trump and Putin may take place at the end of February.
It is worth noting that Russia has occupied one-fifth of Ukraine's territory during the war. Moscow has demanded that Kyiv cede territory and maintain permanent neutrality as part of any peace agreement. Ukraine demands the withdrawal of Russian troops from occupied territories and seeks NATO membership or equivalent security guarantees to prevent attacks from Moscow.
The U.S. and Ukraine are currently negotiating a deal that could open up Ukraine's vast natural resources for U.S. investments. Three sources reported that the U.S. has proposed to take control of the extraction of 50 percent of Ukraine's key minerals. Zelensky stated on Saturday that he would not sign the agreement unless it includes security provisions necessary for Kyiv.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has called for an emergency EU summit in response to the "challenges posed by Donald Trump."
