US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday for talks with Russian officials, aiming to address the ongoing war in Ukraine. These discussions follow a phone call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, during which Trump ordered his officials to begin negotiations on the conflict, a promise he made during his campaign. Riyadh, which is also involved in discussions with Washington regarding the Gaza Strip, has played a role in facilitating early communication between the Trump administration and Moscow, including facilitating a recent prisoner swap.

Rubio, who spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday, will meet with Russian representatives in Saudi Arabia alongside national security adviser Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. The specific Russian officials they will meet with remain unclear. Russian media has reported that these talks are scheduled for Tuesday in Riyadh, marking one of the first high-level in-person meetings between US and Russian officials in years, intended as a precursor to a potential meeting between the US and Russian presidents.

Rubio has indicated that the coming days and weeks will determine if Putin is genuinely interested in pursuing peace. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is also in the region, has stated he plans to visit Saudi Arabia and Turkey but has no intentions to meet with Russian or US officials, and Ukraine is not expected to be involved in the Saudi-hosted talks.

In addition to discussions on the war, Rubio is expected to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) to discuss Trump's controversial proposal regarding the resettlement of Gaza's Palestinian residents and the potential US-led reconstruction efforts. This proposal has angered Arab nations and heightened fears of displacing Palestinians.

Saudi Arabia, along with other Arab nations, has rejected any plan that involves resettling Palestinians and is working on a counterproposal, which may include a Gulf-led reconstruction fund and sidelining Hamas. MbS has also reiterated that Saudi Arabia will not normalize relations with Israel without a clear path to a Palestinian state. On Sunday, Rubio visited Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and reaffirmed US support for Israel in its ongoing regional rivalry with Iran.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from Bloomberg.