Trump says that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia may host talks with Putin on Ukraine

When President Trump said on Wednesday that he might meet soon with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to discuss an end to a war of nearly three years in Ukraine, he called what might seem an unusual place for conversations.

“We expect that he will come here, and I will go there and we will also also meet in Saudi Arabia the first time,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the Oval Office. “We will meet in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, know if we can accomplish something.”

Mr. Trump has been martyred in the relationship of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the actual ruler of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as a reason for choosing the Gulf nation at their first meeting since the restoration of the White House. “We know the crown prince, and I think it will be a very good place,” said Mr. Trump.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has increasingly played the role of the mediator in the war of Russia, Ukraine, along with its neighbor, the United Arab Emirates.

For Prince Muhammad, mediation in the war represents an opportunity to unify his situation as a global leader with a post -Middle East influence. It also enables him to put himself as a major medium capable of bringing strong countries to the table, despite his continuous struggles to end them The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s involvement In the devastating war in Yemen.

In September 2022, Prince Muhammad helped release 10 prisoners from different countries as part of a broader exchange between Russia and Ukraine. Later, in May 2023, it is He called the President of UkraineVolodymyr Zelensky, to speak at a meeting of Arab leaders in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where Mr. Zelinski called on the countries of the Middle East to support Ukraine against Russia.

Later that summer, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine hosted closed talks in Jeddah aimed at ending the war, which was attended by diplomats from more than 40 countries, but not from Russia.

In August 2024, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia played an influential role in negotiating the largest swap of the United States’ Russia since the Cold War, and Mr. Putin Personally Crown Prince.

Earlier on Wednesday, Mr. Trump’s private envoy to the Middle East, Steve Whittvo, said that Prince Mohamed played a “effective” role in mediation. Mark Vogel’s launchAn American teacher was arrested on charges of bringing the medical marijuana to Russia in August 2021.

“He has a very strong friendship with President Trump, behind the scenes he was encouraging, pushing and looking for the right result, and it was useful, it was so,” Mr. Witkev said From the role of the Saudi crown prince.

Like many countries in the Middle East, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has made it clear that it does not seek to move alongside the war. She has I sent humanitarian aid To Ukraine, even during the cultivation of close relations with Russia.

The Trump administration is also looking for resource -rich Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to play a role after the war in Gaza. Mr. Trump was paying a proposal to transfer all millions of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and then rebuild the pocket as “the Rivieh in the Middle East.”

Earlier this week, King Abdullah from Jordan said that there will be a A meeting in RiyadhThe Saudi capital, which included Prince Muhammad and others to discuss the proposal of Mr. Trump Gaza before the Arab leaders met at the Emergency League summit in Cairo on February 27.