MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. A Ukrainian governmental delegation has begun a visit to Saudi Arabia, which is expected to host talks on the Ukrainian settlement.
US President Donald Trump said earlier that consultations on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict will be held in Saudi Arabia next week. He also said that he hoped to meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, Vladimir Zelensky said that he plans o visit the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey in the near future but doesn’t plan any contacts with Russian and US representatives there. Head of Zelensky’s office Andery Yermak refuted reports about a potential meeting with the Russian side.
"A Ukrainian governmental delegation has begun a working visit to Saudi Arabia with a meeting with nearly one hundred of local businessmen. <…> Dozens of meeting will be held in the coming days to prepare President Vladimir Zenesky’s visit to Saudi Arabia. In particular, we will prepare for the signing of important economic agreements with the countries of this region," Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister and Economics Minister Yulia Sviridenko wrote on her Facebook page (Facebook is banned in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, which has been designated as extremist).
According to Sviridenko, the delegation includes Agrarian Policy Minister Vitaly Koval, First Deputy Minister for the Development of Communities and Territories Alena Shkrum, Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalization Alexey Sobolev, and acting chief of the State Property Fund Ivan Smachilo.
US President Donald Trump held telephone talks with Putin and Zelensky on February 12. Following his discussion with the Russian leader, Trump announced his intention to initiate negotiations concerning Ukraine. The Kremlin press service indicated that the presidents had "agreed to continue personal contacts, including the organization of face-to-face meetings." Trump later mentioned that his meeting with Putin might take place in Saudi Arabia.
According to US Congressman Michael McCaul, the United States will be represented at the talks in Saudi Arabu by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East Steven Witkoff, and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz. The objective of the talks is to organize Trump’s meeting with Putin and Zelensky to put an end to the conflict, he added.