Rubio speaks with Ukraine’s foreign minister ahead of Saudi talks, Kyiv says

 

Rubio speaks with Ukraine’s foreign minister ahead of Saudi talks, Kyiv says

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said he spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Friday about the two nations’ upcoming negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, describing the call as “constructive.”

“Ukraine wants the war to end, and US leadership is essential for achieving lasting peace. We also discussed ways to advance our bilateral cooperation,” Sybiha said on X.

The forthcoming meetings in Saudi Arabia follow previous conversations between the US and Russia, from which Kyiv was excluded.

Russia does not have meetings planned next week in Saudi Arabia, a Kremlin spokesperson told CNN Friday, confirming that Moscow will not participate in this round of talks.

Meantime: Trump has threatened new sanctions on Russia, including on its banking sector, in response to Moscow’s continued bombardment of Ukraine. The president’s top economist told reporters at the White House Friday that Trump’s threat is an effort to bring parties to the negotiating table.

“President Trump is adamant that we need to get everybody to the table, and we can do that with carrots, and we can do that with sticks, and he’s talking to everybody, and he’s got a whole litany of potential proposals that he could throw their way to get them to the table,” Kevin Hassett, who serves as director of the National Economic Council, told reporters Friday.

Hassett said which approach the administration decides to go with “is something that’s a work in progress,” but that both Trump and Rubio “are working on that every day.”

This post has been updated with confirmation Russia will not participate in the talks.