President Donald Trump said on Thursday that senior officials from the US, Russia and Ukraine would meet in Saudi Arabia next week for talks aimed at ending the Ukraine war, a day after he proposed a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the kingdom.
“Tomorrow there's a meeting in Munich and then next week, there's a meeting in Saudi Arabia, not with myself or President Putin, but with top officials. And Ukraine will be a part of it too,” he told reporters at the White House.
On Wednesday Mr Trump agreed in a phone call with Mr Putin to start negotiating an end to the war, in a sweeping reversal of US policy in place since the fighting broke out three years ago.
He said the pair had a “lengthy and highly productive phone call” and that teams from the US and Russia would start negotiations immediately. Mr Trump said he would probably meet President Putin in Saudi Arabia in the “not-too-distant future”.
Mr Trump added that his Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff would lead the negotiations.
The US leader, who took office on January 20, has said one of his first goals in the White House is to bring a swift end to the war. He spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shortly after talking to Mr Putin.
“It is time to stop this ridiculous war, where there has been massive, and totally unnecessary, death and destruction. God bless the people of Russia and Ukraine,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said eventual Nato membership for Ukraine is unrealistic and Ukraine would probably have to accept the loss of some territory. He challenged European nations to take more responsibility for the continent’s security.
Mr Zelenskyy is set to meet US Vice President JD Vance in Germany on Friday as concerns mount in Kyiv that the US-Russian negotiations will bypass Kyiv.
The Ukrainian President on Thursday warned world leaders “against trusting Putin's claims of readiness to end the war” and said he wanted the US to agree a “plan to stop Putin” before any negotiations.
EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday that “any deal behind our backs will not work” and that “appeasement also always fails”.
Mr Trump said that “high-level people” from Moscow, Kyiv and Washington would meet in Munich on Friday, but the Ukrainian presidency said it did not expect to take part in talks with Russian officials and that “for the moment there is nothing on the table”.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also due to travel to Munich after his plane was forced to turn back because of a mechanical issue.