On February 18, a meeting of US and Russian delegations will be held in Saudi Arabia to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, the Axios portal reported, citing its sources.
According to the media outlet, high-ranking US and Russian representatives will also discuss issues related to the preparation of negotiations between the presidents of the two countries, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
Earlier, the US leader's special envoy for the Middle East, Stephen Witkoff, said that on the evening of February 16 he would head to Saudi Arabia as part of the US delegation for negotiations with Russia and expects serious progress in resolving the Ukrainian conflict.
The United States will also be represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump's national security adviser, Mike Walz.
On On February 12, the Russian president and the American leader had a telephone conversation. They discussed the issue of stopping the fighting in Ukraine, bilateral relations and a number of other topics, and also agreed to continue contacts and organize a personal meeting.
The Washington administration plans to hold bilateral meetings with representatives of Moscow and Kiev, and then organize joint negotiations with both sides in the conflict, NBC television reported, citing its sources.
They confirmed that Kiev's envoys would not participate in the upcoming consultations in Saudi Arabia, but noted that the United States intends to work to resolve the conflict with both Russia and Ukraine.
Saudi Arabia will not only provide Russian and American officials with a platform for the upcoming negotiations, but also intends to act as a mediator. This was reported on Sunday by CNN, citing its sources.
The television company notes that Saudi Arabia has been given an important role in the foreign policy of the Trump administration. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud helped to free American Mark Fogel, who was serving a sentence in Russia for drug smuggling, and in 2017, Trump made his first foreign visit as president to Saudi Arabia, CNN recalls.