Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading a delegation to Saudi Arabia to discuss the war in Ukraine with Russian officials. Here is where things stand as talks begin.
The talks, taking place in Riyadh, come almost exactly three years since Russia invaded Ukraine and plunged the region and Europe into uncertainty. Rubio, whom President Donald Trump recently nominated as the top U.S. diplomat, is working toward a peace agreement in the region.
Rubio will be accompanied by national security adviser Michael Waltz and Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Ahead of the meeting, which will apparently involve direct discussions with the Russians, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov ruled out returning territory that Russia has taken back to Ukraine — something that could be a big sticking point in negotiations.
Lavrov said Monday that his country would not be ceding back territory to Ukraine and panned a push for Ukraine to provide the United States with critical minerals in exchange for military assistance.
“Territorial concessions to what is now called Ukraine were made by the Soviet leadership during the formation of the USSR,” Lavrov said, according to Reuters.
“How should we give in — with Russian people or with rare earth metals?” Lavrov added.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent presented a draft proposal that would have granted the U.S. 50% ownership of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, which are key to producing semiconductor chips and advanced weapons. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told his aides to reject the plan over concerns that it did not provide adequate security guarantees, according to NBC News.
A U.S. official called the Ukrainian response “short-sighted.”
“Binding economic ties with the United States will be the best guarantee against future aggression and an integral part of lasting peace,” the official said. "The U.S. recognizes this, the Russians recognize this, and the Ukrainians must recognize this."
Russia first annexed the Ukrainian territory of Crimea back in 2014, drawing international condemnation. It captured more territory from Ukraine during its 2022 invasion, and Ukraine, with the backing of Washington, has been fighting to get that territory back ever since.
The new Russian comments about not ceding land back to Ukraine will surely not be welcome in Kyiv. Zelensky has also pushed back on the premise of the bilateral talks between the U.S. and Russia about Ukraine’s future.
He said during an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press that Ukraine would “never accept” a deal for peace in the region that is struck between the U.S. and Russia without Ukrainian participation, a bad sign for Rubio heading into meetings in Riyadh.
During an interview with Fox News, Witkoff pushed back on the notion that Ukraine is being sidelined in the talks.
“Ukraine is part of the talks,” Witkoff told Maria Bartiromo, adding, “I don't think this is about excluding anybody.”
During an interview with CBS’s Face the Nation ahead of the Saudi Arabia trip, Rubio noted that Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone last week. He said the Russian strongman expressed an interest in making peace.
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Rubio said Trump expressed his desire to see the war end in a way that “was enduring and that protected Ukrainian sovereignty.” Rubio said the coming days and weeks will determine whether Putin is serious about his desire for peace in the region.
“And obviously, this is the first step in that process, but we have a long ways to go,” Rubio said. “Again, one call doesn’t make it. One meeting wouldn’t make it. There’s a lot of work to be done. ... Even the longest journey begins with a first step. So we’ll see what happens from here, hopefully good things.”