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Saudi Arabia emerged as a central player in pursuit of a US-brokered peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. This is largely due to political capital exercised on its large oil reserves.
President Donald Trump proposed it as a place for Riyadh to begin a face-to-face meeting between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin agreed that the place would be accepted. While this may seem like a strange choice to some, the Middle Eastern Kingdom has reason to be involved in finding an end to a conflict thousands of miles from its borders.
For Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, mediating peace negotiations will help solidify his position as a global leader. He also stepped into Qatar. Qatar was deeply involved in negotiations between Israel and Hamas. Qatar has also helped to promote the return of dozens of Ukrainian children who were taken to Russia during the war since 2023.
Trump cited both him and Putin in his remarks about his relationship with Saudi Arabia. “We know the Crown Prince and I think it will be a very good place,” he said.
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Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Bandar Algaud/Course of the Royal Court of Saudi Arabia/handout via Reuters)
That’s why Trump’s Middle Eastern envoy Steve Witkoff took the front row seat to US deals in Eastern Europe. Witkov shot into Moscow this week and went home with Mark Vogel, an American teacher who was detained by the Kremlin for bringing medical marijuana to Russia in 2021.
Trump said in the Truth Social Post on Wednesday that he designated Secretary of State Marco Rubio, director of CIA John Ratcliffe, national security adviser Michael Waltz and Witcoff. General Keith Kellogg. The post comes after talking on the phone with both Putin and Ukrainian President Voldimir Zelensky.
The Saudi Kingdom is the world’s largest oil exporter and plays an important role in setting global prices. Rising oil prices will increase the Kremlin’s revenues from Russia’s own exports.
According to Reuters, in 2024, Russia won $108.22 billion from oil and gas sales.
Trump has proposed it as a place for Riyadh to begin a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Mikhail Metzel/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump believes that repeatedly pressing OPEC alliance states to kill oil on markets and lower global prices will make Russia more open to negotiations if the source of war is hit.
“The prices are now high enough for that war to last,” Trump told executives at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month.
“You had to lower oil prices,” he said. “It ends that war. You can end that war.”
The Trump team is much closer to Saudi Arabians than the Biden administration, but relations over Trump’s plan to move Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to neighboring countries and take over territory may be strained. Still, bin Salman has pledged to invest up to $600 billion in the US over the next four years.
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Trump and Zelensky (AP Photo/Julia Demarie Nikinson)
Speaking to Bin Salman just before Davos’ remarks, Trump said he would ask “The Crown Prince, the great man, to close it down to about $1 trillion.”
Saudi Arabia and Ukraine have a common enemy with Iran. Iran has long provided Shahed drones and other ammunition to Russia.
” [Iran-backed] “We deployed Iranian weapons against Saudi Arabia against Saudi Arabia, targeting critical infrastructure, including Saudi Arabia and airports. Russia’s use of drone warfare against Ukrainian cities,” said Daniel Barson of Ukrainian advocacy group Razom. As a prelude to
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In May 2023, Bin Salman invited Zelensky to speak at a meeting of Arab leaders in Jeddah. Later that year, Zelenskyy and Bin Salman held closed consultations with diplomats from 40 countries to end the war, but Russia did not participate.
Putin thanked Saudi Arabia in August for negotiating the widest prisoner swap since the Cold War, securing the release of 26 people.
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