According to Republican lawmakers and two US officials familiar with the plan, Trump administration officials are heading to Saudi Arabia to begin peace talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators.
However, Ukrainian officials told Politico that the announcement of Saudi Arabia’s discussions was a surprise to Kiev.
US officials will join Secretaries of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkov, and in the coming days, President Middle Eastern envoy Steve Witkov to discuss the end of the war. He said he would start.
But Trump’s envoy for the Ukrainian-Russia speech, retired General Keith Kellogg, will not be present, officials said.
Authorities also said there are no plans for representatives of other major European powers to participate in consultations. It could rank NATO allies that President Donald Trump publicly urged him to place his seat at the negotiation table.
The conference could mark a major moment in Trump’s quest for peace process, and would mark the first major meeting of representatives from Russia and Ukraine since the start of the war in 2022.
Texas Republican Rep. Mike McCall confirmed Waltz and Witkov plans to join Saudi Rubio to join Saudi Rubio during an interview at the Politico Pub on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference I did.
Two US officials who admitted anonymity to discuss the issue of sensitive negotiations confirmed the plan but did not elaborate on other details about the meeting, including the participation of Ukrainian or Russian negotiators. Ta.
A spokesman for the Ukrainian government and the State Department did not respond to requests for comment.
Trump told reporters Wednesday that he hopes to hold a face-to-face meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Russian leader Vladimir Putin. “We hope to meet in the end,” he said.
At the Munich Conference, European officials emphasized that Ukraine must be directly involved in the talks between Trump and Putin.
“There will only be peace if Ukrainian sovereignty is secured,” German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz told the meeting on Saturday. “Therefore, oralized peace will not find our support.”
McCole, former chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, agreed. “The president wants peace, but it must be a contract in which the Ukrainians are at this table of deals now,” he said.
Hundreds of foreign leaders and national security authorities flocked to Munich for their annual security conference. The rally highlighted deep anxiety and anxiety among Europeans over America’s future commitment to the Trans-Atlantic Alliance under Trump, and a fierce speech by US Vice President JD Vance, who shocked many participants. After that, it was exposed.
European officials and US lawmakers negotiate in a way that does not simply suspend combat and allow Russia to launch new invasions in the future, and that does not allow Russia to revive and reorganize. It emphasizes that it must be done.
Prior to the meeting, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses excluded the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO as part of peace negotiations and also expanded the US military or NATO collective defense clauses to future peacekeepers. I’ve excluded it. These comments were even fired from top Republican lawmakers, and Hegses later partially walked through the comments.
The possibility of excluded Ukraine and European allies from potential peace negotiations has created uncertainty among continental diplomats, but the complaints view the complaint as indicating an imbalance of power between Washington and Europe. Masu.
“If you have to claim that it’s related, that probably means you’re not,” said one European diplomat.
Ukrainian host Voldimi Zelenki said he does not believe Putin is ready for true peace talks after three years of war. “Trump told me Putin wanted to stop the war. I told him ‘Putin is a liar. I don’t trust him, so you should put pressure on him. I hope for it,” Zelensky said in Munich.
Trump administration officials are planning Zelensky to hand over some of Ukrainian rare earth mineral stakes in exchange for ongoing support from the US military.