In a move deemed as part of US President, Donald Trump’s approach to Ukraine’s peace, Senior US officials and Russian officials are set to meet in Saudi Arabia for talks on ending the war in Ukraine.
US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Secretary of state Marco Rubio and Trump’s Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff are slated to be part of the talks.
Michael McCaul, Chair of the US house foreign affairs committee, said that the talks were aimed at arranging a meeting with Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy “to finally bring peace and end this conflict.”
Neither Ukrainian nor European officials are participating in the talks in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, though US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio stressed that Ukraine and Europe would both have to be involved in any “real negotiations” that result from the meeting.
Trump’s outreach to Russia has raised concerns in Ukraine and Europe that Washington could be racing to secure a peace plan that concedes some Ukrainian territory with little input from Kyiv or its European allies.
Addressing the Munich conference on Saturday, European foreign policy Chief, Kaja Kallas drew parallels between the Trump administration’s approach and the failure of appeasement in the run-up to World World II.
Referring to the Munich Agreement endorsing Nazi Germany’s annexation of the Sudetenland in exchange for a pledge of peace, Kallas said, “As I stand here in Munich tonight, I cannot help but ask, have we been here before? Czechoslovakia, 1938.”
“We have an aggressor at our door intent on taking the land that isn’t his. And the negotiators, not us, are already giving away their bargaining chips before the negotiations have even begun.”
Kaja Kallas
Trump To Meet Putin “Very Soon”
Meanwhile, United States President, Donald Trump said that he could meet Russian President Vladimir Putin “very soon.”
Trump told reporters on Sunday ahead of talks between US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, “There’s no time set, but it could be very soon.”
Trump added when asked if a meeting could happen this month, “It’ll be soon; we’ll see what happens.”
Addressing reporters after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier sought to temper expectations of a swift end to the conflict, Trump expressed confidence that Putin wants to end the war.
“They have a big powerful machine, you understand that. They defeated Hitler and they defeated Napoleon. They’ve been fighting a long time. They’ve done it before. But I think he would like to stop fighting.”
Donald Trump
Asked if he believes Putin wants to seize all of Ukraine’s territory, Trump said he had asked his Russian counterpart the same question and it would be a “big problem for us” if so.
Earlier on Sunday, Rubio said that Putin had expressed his desire for peace in his phone call with Trump last week even as the top US Diplomat cautioned that the conflict would not be resolved overnight.
“Now, obviously, it has to be followed up by action. So, the next few weeks and days will determine whether it’s serious or not. Ultimately, one phone call does not make peace. One phone call does not solve a war as complex as this one.”
Marco Rubio
Rubio said that the specifics of the talks, including the makeup of the Russian delegation, had not been finalised.
“I don’t have any details for you this morning, other than to say that we stand ready to follow the President’s lead on this and begin to explore ways, if those opportunities present itself, to begin a process towards peace.”
Marco Rubio
It remains to be seen how and if Ukraine would be involved in the peace talks.
READ ALSO: Israel In Close Works With US To Implement Trump’s Plan For Gaza
