US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Saudi Arabia for meeting with Russian officials

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has arrived in Saudi Arabia ahead of anticipated talks with Russian officials aimed at ending the nearly three-year war between Russia and Ukraine.

Report informs via Reuters that Rubio, who spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov over the phone, will meet with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia alongside Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz and White House Middle East envoy Steve Vitkoff. It remains unclear which Russian officials they will be meeting with.

The talks, scheduled for February 18, will be one of the first high-level in-person discussions between US and Russian officials in recent years and are expected to precede a meeting between the US and Russian presidents.

Rubio stated that the coming weeks and days would reveal whether the Russian side is serious about reaching a peace agreement.

According to Ukrainian media reports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also in the region. He arrived in the UAE on January 16 and expressed his intention to visit Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, although dates have not been determined. Zelenskyy stated that he does not plan to meet with Russian or American officials, and it is believed that Ukraine has not been invited to the talks being held in Saudi Arabia.