AGENCY
riyadh, Feb 17
The long-awaited peace talks to end the Russia-Ukraine war, which us nearing its third anniversary, is all set to take place in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, along with other top US officials will hold talks with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh with the focus on ending the war in Ukraine. Why was Saudi Arabia chosen as the venue for peace talks? Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday said that Saudi Arabia was chosen as the destination for Ukraine peace talks as it “generally suits” both Russia and the US. The idea was first put forward by US President Donald Trump. Trump conveyed the idea to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their phone call last week. The decision to hold peace talks in the Middle East instead of Europe has made many European capitals restless as they think that the majority of the decisions made with regard to security would be made with limited European input.
Peskov also hinted at the possibility of a Trump-Putin meeting later on.
According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has claimed about 12,500 civilian lives.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has lost 43,000 soldiers in combat, said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Ending the Russia-Ukraine war would be another big achievement for Trump.
Experts believe that Trump’s choosing Riyadh is a logical and strategic step. One of the major factor is Putin and Trump’s good rapport with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Another prominent reason is US’s business ties with Saudi.
After assuming charge as president, Trump’s first call was with Salman. According to Saudi government, crown prince reportedly pledged $600 billion in US investments over four years.
Meanwhile, European leaders are not quite happy with Trump’s decision of the venue. An emergency summit will be hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris to discuss and weigh Ukraine’s future role.
The leaders of the UK, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark, as well as the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission and the Secretary General of NATO, will attend the meeting.
