RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Friday welcomed a recent phone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and the possibility of holding a summit attended by the two presidents in Saudi Arabia.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia commends the phone call that took place between President Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation on 12 February 2025,” said a statement issued by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It expressed Saudi Arabia’s willingness to host the summit and reaffirmed its ongoing efforts to achieve lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine.
It said that the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has reiterated the Kingdom’s support for mediation since the beginning of the war, and during separate calls with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on March 3, 2022.
President Zelensky on Thursday said that Ukraine would not accept any bilateral agreement reached between the United States and Russia without Kyiv’s participation.
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The phone call between Trump and Putin and the remarks from Trump’s defence secretary, who stated that Kyiv cannot join NATO has raised concerns in Europe that the White House may look to strike a deal with Russia without involving them.
Russia seeks prompt Putin-Trump meeting
The Kremlin said that a face-to-face meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin needed to be organised “promptly” after the two presidents held a lengthy and productive phone call the day before.
“There is definitely a need to organise such a meeting quite promptly, the heads of state have a lot to talk about,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
