Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump met on Wednesday to explore a resolution to end the almost three-year conflict in Ukraine, but he named what might have seemed like an unlikely location for the discussions.
” We expect that he’ll arrive here, and I’ll go there and we’re going to meet even perhaps in Saudi Arabia the first time”, Trump told reporters. ” We’ll match in Saudi Arabia, see if we can get things done”. Trump cited Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman as one of his and Putin’s reasons for deciding the Gulf region for their first gathering. ” We know the king prince, and I think it’d be a very good position to be”, he said. Saudi Arabia has stepped up its mediation function in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Mediating the combat offers an opportunity for MbS to cement his position as a world leader with impact beyond West Asia. He can position himself as a vital auxiliary capable of bringing powerful countries to the table as a result.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump’s special envoy to West Asia, Steve Witkoff, said MbS had played an “instrumental” role in mediating the launch of Marc Fogel, aUS professor who was arrested on charges of bringing medical cannabis into Russia in August 2021.
