{"id":126771,"date":"2025-02-16T22:43:40","date_gmt":"2025-02-16T22:43:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/rubio-leading-us-delegation-to-saudi-arabia-for-talks-with-russia-on-ukraine-according-to-ap-source-the-associated-press\/"},"modified":"2025-02-16T22:43:40","modified_gmt":"2025-02-16T22:43:40","slug":"rubio-leading-us-delegation-to-saudi-arabia-for-talks-with-russia-on-ukraine-according-to-ap-source-the-associated-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/rubio-leading-us-delegation-to-saudi-arabia-for-talks-with-russia-on-ukraine-according-to-ap-source-the-associated-press\/","title":{"rendered":"Rubio leading US delegation to Saudi Arabia for talks with Russia on Ukraine, according to AP source – The Associated Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio tours Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein, Pool Photo via AP)
Steve Witkoff watches as Secretary of State Marco Rubio applauds as President Donald Trump, accompanied by Marc Fogel, speak in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo\/Alex Brandon)
Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., speaks during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Capitol Hill, Feb. 29, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks as he tours Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein, Pool Photo via AP)
Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, arrives for talks with Germany\u2019s Chancellor Olaf Scholz, at the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb.15, 2025. (Sven Hoppe\/DPA via AP, Pool)
U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Walz, left, and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, walk back after speaki15 to the media outside the West Wing of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio tours Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein, Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio tours Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein, Pool Photo via AP)
Steve Witkoff watches as Secretary of State Marco Rubio applauds as President Donald Trump, accompanied by Marc Fogel, speak in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo\/Alex Brandon)
Steve Witkoff watches as Secretary of State Marco Rubio applauds as President Donald Trump, accompanied by Marc Fogel, speak in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo\/Alex Brandon)
Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., speaks during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Capitol Hill, Feb. 29, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., speaks during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Capitol Hill, Feb. 29, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks as he tours Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein, Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks as he tours Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein, Pool Photo via AP)
Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, arrives for talks with Germany\u2019s Chancellor Olaf Scholz, at the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb.15, 2025. (Sven Hoppe\/DPA via AP, Pool)
Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, arrives for talks with Germany\u2019s Chancellor Olaf Scholz, at the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb.15, 2025. (Sven Hoppe\/DPA via AP, Pool)
U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Walz, left, and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, walk back after speaki15 to the media outside the West Wing of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)
U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Walz, left, and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, walk back after speaki15 to the media outside the West Wing of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading a delegation to Saudi Arabia for direct talks with Russian officials in the coming days to seek an end to Moscow\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, a U.S. official said Sunday.
Also expected to take part in the talks in Riyadh about Russia\u2019s February 2022 invasion is national security adviser Michael Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff, according to the official, who was not authorized to discuss the talks and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The official added that what the administration sees as early-stage negotiations remain fluid and who ultimately ends up at the table for the anticipated talks could change.
The trip follows last week\u2019s telephone call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in which Trump said they \u201cagreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately.\u201d The call upended years of U.S. policy, ending the isolation of Moscow over the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion<\/a><\/span>. Trump also spoke separately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
It wasn\u2019t immediately clear if any Ukrainians would take part in the talks. A Ukrainian delegation is in Saudi Arabia to pave the way for a possible visit by Zelenskyy, a Ukrainian official said.
Trump on Sunday told reporters Zelenskyy \u201cwill be involved,\u201d but did not elaborate on the role he\u2019d play in the talks.<\/p>\n

Zelenskyy has said he wouldn\u2019t accept any negotiations about Ukraine that don\u2019t include his country. European governments have also demanded a role<\/a><\/span>.
Speaking to Fox News Channel\u2019s \u201cSunday Morning Futures\u201d program, Witkoff said he and Waltz will be \u201chaving meetings at the direction of the president,\u201d and hope to make \u201csome really good progress with regard to Russia-Ukraine.\u201d
Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, a first deputy prime minister, didn\u2019t clarify whether there is a link between Zelenskyy\u2019s possible trip and previously announced U.S.-Russia talks. In a Facebook post, she said the Ukrainian delegation\u2019s focus is on strengthening economic ties as Kyiv \u201cprepares to sign important economic agreements with countries in the region.\u201d
She didn\u2019t say anything about when Zelenskyy might go to Saudi Arabia and with whom he might meet.
Andriy Yermak, a top Zelenskyy adviser, said earlier Sunday there was no possibility of Ukrainian and Russian representatives meeting directly in the immediate future. In a Telegram post, Yermak said the Ukrainians weren\u2019t planning to do so \u201cuntil we develop a plan\u201d to end the war and bring about a \u201cjust peace.\u201d
Mykhailo Podolyak, another Zelenskyy adviser, on Saturday denied that Ukraine will participate in any planned U.S.-Russia meetings in Saudi Arabia. \u201cThere is nothing on the negotiating table that would be worth discussing,\u201d he told Ukrainian television.
Svyrydenko\u2019s remarks came within hours of Witkoff\u2019s statement that high-level meetings were imminent in Saudi Arabia.
Witkoff didn\u2019t specify with whom they would be meeting and what they would discuss, but he said that he was leaving for Saudi Arabia on Sunday evening.
Russian officials and state media took a triumphant tone after Trump jettisoned three years of U.S. policy and announced that he would likely meet soon with Putin<\/a><\/span> to negotiate a peace deal in the war in Ukraine<\/a><\/span>.
Trump\u2019s announcement created a major diplomatic upheaval that could herald a watershed moment for Ukraine and Europe.
Putin has been ostracized by the West<\/a><\/span> since the war began. In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant<\/a><\/span> for the Russian leader.
In his TV interview, Witkoff didn\u2019t directly respond to a question about whether Ukraine would have to give up a \u201csignificant portion\u201d of its territory as part of any negotiated settlement.
\u201cThose are details, and I\u2019m not dismissive of the details, they\u2019re important. But I think the beginning here is trust-building. It\u2019s getting everybody to understand that this war does not belong continuing, that it should end. That\u2019s what the president has directed us to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n

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Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio tours Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday Feb. 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein, Pool Photo via AP)Steve Witkoff watches as Secretary of State Marco Rubio applauds as President Donald Trump, accompanied by Marc Fogel, speak in the Diplomatic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":126772,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}