Trump officials reported to be heading to Saudi Arabia for talks with Russia

Senior Trump administration officials are travelling to Saudi Arabia to begin peace talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, Politico has reported.

Source: Politico, citing Republican Congressman Michael McCaul and two US officials; Bloomberg, citing sources

Details: Politico reports that Trump's national security advisor Mike Waltz will join Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the president's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in the coming days to begin talks to end the war.

However, according to officials, retired general Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine-Russia talks, will not be present.

The officials also said that no representatives of other major European powers are expected to attend the talks.

Michael McCaul, a Republican lawmaker from Texas, confirmed Waltz and Witkoff's plans to join Rubio in Saudi Arabia to start talks between the two warring parties in a comment to Politico on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

Two US officials, who requested anonymity, confirmed the plans but did not disclose any other details about the meetings, including which Ukrainian or Russian negotiators would be involved. A spokesman for the Ukrainian government and the State Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that senior officials from the US and Russia will meet next week in Saudi Arabia to prepare for a potential summit of leaders at the end of the month to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

The details of the meeting and the list of attendees are still being worked out, but people briefed on the plans say the group is likely to consist of national security advisors. One person said the goal is to set a meeting date before the start of the holy month of Ramadan in March.

Another official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that most Europeans have not yet been informed of the talks.

"And while officials from Ukraine are expected to attend, they also don’t appear to be fully up to speed with the preparations," the article said.

Background:

• On 15 February, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was unaware of an invitation to Saudi Arabia and expressed concern that the plan was developed outside Kyiv's control.
• According to Bloomberg's sources, the Saudi authorities have invited representatives of the United States, Russia and Ukraine to a meeting in Riyadh. The talks are being convened by Saudi National Security Advisor Musaed al-Aiban. However, the source added that the plans could change at the last minute.

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