US Secretary of State in Riyadh for peace talks on Ukraine war

Shafaq News/ On Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, ahead of preliminary peace talks between the United States and Russia over the war in Ukraine.

Rubio traveled from Tel Aviv on Monday morning after spending two days in Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He is set to join the White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz for initial talks on Ukraine, scheduled to begin Tuesday, with Saudi Arabia mediating.

"President Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin last week, and in it, Vladimir Putin expressed his interest in peace, and the president expressed his desire to see an end to this conflict in a way that was enduring and that protected Ukrainian sovereignty," Rubio said earlier.

"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,” he added, “Ultimately, one phone call does not make peace."

Last week, Trump surprised European allies by announcing that negotiations to end the Ukraine war would begin "immediately" following a phone call with the Russian President—their first public conversation since Trump took office in January.