Payam Javan: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet with senior Russian officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, as announced by the Kremlin on Monday. The meeting, which will include Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, aims to discuss the restoration of diplomatic relations between Washington and Moscow. The discussions will also focus on negotiating a peaceful resolution to the ongoing war in Ukraine, which has remained a key geopolitical crisis since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

The talks, which will be attended by Trump’s Middle East envoy Steven Witkoff and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, are being positioned as a significant step towards a potential cease-fire. The Biden administration had previously severed diplomatic ties with Moscow and refused negotiations unless Russia fully withdrew from Ukrainian territory. However, after phone conversations earlier this month, Trump announced that both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were open to discussions, though Kyiv has since expressed concerns over its exclusion from the talks.

Despite Trump’s assurances that Ukraine would have a role in the negotiations, Zelenskyy has insisted that any agreement must directly involve Ukrainian representatives. Speaking from the UAE, he dismissed the upcoming meeting as ineffective if Ukraine is not formally included. Meanwhile, European Union and NATO leaders have called for at least an observer presence at the talks. With speculation growing over whether Ukraine will be forced to concede territory, Witkoff stated that the immediate priority is to build trust and establish the foundations for a lasting peace.