Rubio to Meet Ukrainian Counterparts in Saudi Arabia This Week

The talks will include ways to ‘advance shared interests in the region and strengthen the U.S.–Saudi relationship,’ the State Department spokesperson said.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to visit Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 10–12 for negotiations with Ukrainian counterparts to end the Russia–Ukraine war, according to a statement from the Department of State.

“While in Jeddah, he will also meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud to discuss ways to advance shared interests in the region and strengthen the U.S.–Saudi relationship,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said on March 9.

Rubio will then travel to Canada for the G7 foreign ministers meeting on March 12–14 to “advance President Trump’s America First policy agenda.”

“Discussions will focus on conflicts in the Middle East and Europe, cooperation in Africa and the Indo-Pacific, and stability in the Western Hemisphere,” Bruce added.

On March 7, Rubio spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and said President Donald Trump wants the Russia–Ukraine war to end quickly.

“The Secretary underscored President Trump is determined to end the war as soon as possible and emphasized that all sides must take steps to secure a sustainable peace,” the State Department said in a statement.

After talks broke down during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House on Feb. 28, Trump froze military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

Rubio, who had long advocated for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion while in the Senate, said later on Feb. 28 that Zelenskyy should apologize for his behavior at the meeting.

“I think he should apologize for wasting our time for a meeting that was going to end the way it did,” Rubio told CNN, accusing the Ukrainian president of “turning this thing into the fiasco for him that it became.”

“There was no need for him to go in there and become antagonistic.”

In the days after, Zelenskyy said he regretted how the meeting unfolded and said he was willing to return to negotiations over a rare earth minerals deal in exchange for continued U.S. military aid.

Zelenskyy has said that he is also planning to visit Saudi Arabia for a meeting with Mohammed bin Salman on Monday. Ukrainian diplomatic and military officials will meet with U.S. officials on March 11, he added.

On March 6, European Union leaders met in Brussels and agreed on plans to increase defense spending, vowing to stand with Ukraine after the Trump administration froze military aid.

The same day, Trump confirmed that he was considering whether to rescind the temporary protected status for thousands of Ukrainians who fled to the United States after Russia’s invasion.

“We’re not looking to hurt anybody, and we’re certainly not looking to hurt them,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “And I’m looking at that, and there were some people that think that’s appropriate, and some people don’t, and I’ll be making a decision pretty soon.”

Reuters contributed to this report.