MUST-READS

• US officials planning to meet with Ukrainian counterparts in Saudi Arabia

  Senior Trump administration officials are planning a meeting with their Ukrainian counterparts in Saudi Arabia next week, to begin discussions about a cease-fire to end the country’s war with Russia. Special envoy Steve Witkoff, who confirmed Thursday that planning was underway, will be part of the U.S. delegation alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz.  “The idea is to get down a framework for a peace agreement and initial cease-fire,” Witkoff told reporters outside the White House.  Another administration official, granted anonymity to discuss plans that are not yet public, confirmed that the meeting has been under discussion and is “possible.” One aspect of the meeting that remains unsettled, Witkoff said, was the city in Saudi Arabia where the meeting could take place.

• Why Gulf Arab states and Turkey eye key roles in ending Ukraine war

  The Russia-Ukraine war, now in its third year, has profoundly affected global geopolitics. Despite numerous mediation efforts, Gulf Arab states and Turkey have emerged as key players in navigating the crisis and acting as relatively neutral mediators. Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18 hosted Russian and US officials for talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. The four-and-a-half-hour meeting marked the most extensive dialogue between the two sides since the conflict began in 2022. While Riyadh facilitated the contentious session, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky flew to Turkey, his second stop after visiting the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—another influential actor that is engaging with both Kyiv and Moscow. The flurry of visits by Russian, Ukrainian and US officials to Turkey and Gulf Arab capitals underscore the growing influence these regional states have. Driven by their own national interests, Ankara and Gulf states are positioning themselves to play a dominant role in the resolution of the Ukraine war, each seeking to secure significant gains from the outcome.

• Zelensky hopes US-Ukraine talks next week will be ‘meaningful’

  Zelensky announced the US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia in a series of posts on social media, after attending Thursday's crisis summit in Brussels where European Union leaders endorsed plans for a boost in defence spending. "Ukrainian and American teams have resumed work, and we hope that next week we will have a meaningful meeting," he wrote on X. "Ukraine has been seeking peace since the very first moment of the war, and we have always stated that the war continues solely because of Russia." Zelensky urged the global community to put more pressure on Moscow so it "accepts the need to end" the war. He also made an apparent reference to a truce plan outlined earlier this week by French President Emmanuel Macron, which proposed a ceasefire in the air and at sea, and an end to attacks on energy and other civilian infrastructure.

• Zelensky says US and Ukraine will hold talks next week in Saudi Arabia on ending the war

  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says talks between Ukraine and the US on ending the war will take place in Saudi Arabia next week. In his nightly address on Thursday, March 6, Zelensky said he would travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday and his team would stay on to hold talks with US officials. "I am scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia to meet with the Crown Prince. After that, my team will stay in Saudi Arabia to work with American partners. Ukraine is most interested in peace," Zelensky said. The EU's 27 leaders on Thursday greenlit a plan drawn up by the European Commission that aims to mobilize €800 billion to "rearm Europe" against the perceived threat from Russia. At the summit, Zelensky told EU leaders that Ukrainian and American negotiators had "resumed work," and that "we hope that next week we will have a meaningful meeting." He thanked EU leaders for standing by Kyiv, with America's outreach to Russia raising fears Ukraine could be forced into an unfavorable deal. "We are very thankful that we are not alone," said the Ukrainian leader.

• Saudi Arabia, UK gird to forge strategic minerals alliance

  Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom last month announced the signing of a landmark agreement in the critical minerals sector, marking a pivotal step in addressing global shortages while advancing mutual economic and strategic priorities. The accord, inked at the recent Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, seeks to bolster supply chains, attract foreign investment and unlock new opportunities for British businesses. The collaboration on minerals such as copper, lithium, and nickel aligns closely with Saudi Arabia's strategy to diversify its economy beyond hydrocarbons. It also positions the Kingdom as a global hub for critical minerals trade, placing it at the center of efforts to meet growing global demand. For the UK, the deal is in line with ambitions to secure vital materials for emerging technologies in its industrial sector. Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef has emphasized the scale of the opportunity, saying, “The world will require 6T USD in investments over the next decade to meet surging demand for critical minerals, driven by the energy transition and artificial intelligence.”

• Would an end to the Ukraine war be bad news for Saudi Arabia and oil prices?

  The US’s whirlwind bid to resume relations with Russia and end the war has left Europe reeling. The Arab Gulf will be closely watching what that could mean for energy prices and the oil trade. Oil-rich Gulf states were directly impacted by the US’s and European Union’s decision to sanction Russia, which, along with Saudi Arabia, leads an alliance of oil producers dubbed Opec+. A rapid end to the war in Ukraine could mean cheaper commodities, from oil to metals and everything in between, like fertiliser, which requires natural gas for production. “Russian normalisation is a huge boost to get any commodity cheaper than it was before. Vast chunks of the commodity market will be made easily available again,” Viktor Katona, the head of oil analysis at the intelligence firm Kpler, told Middle East Eye.

• Saudi ambassador to UK rules out one-state solution for Palestine

  Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the UK, Prince Khalid bin Bandar, has reaffirmed Riyadh’s stance that a two-state solution remains the only viable path to resolving the Palestinian issue. Speaking on Friday at a panel discussion with Arab News Editor-in-Chief Faisal Abbas, hosted by MENA-based think tank SRMG Think, the ambassador made it clear that the Kingdom rejects any notion of a one-state outcome. “Discussions are just happening, and at the Arab Summit there will be agreement,” he said. “(It is) a little bit early for me to talk about it, but I can tell you that, definitely, we don’t envisage seeing nothing. Straight off the bat, there is no one state solution. As far as we’re concerned, we don’t see the displacement of the people of Gaza as a viable method in order to achieve prosperity.”

• NDMC closes the February 2025 Issuance under the Saudi Arabian Government SAR-denominated Sukuk Program

  The National Debt Management Center announces the closure of February 2025 issuance under the Saudi Arabian Government SAR-denominated Sukuk Program. The Total Amount Allocated was set at SAR 3.071Bn (three billion and seventy-one million Saudi Riyals)

• Trump-Putin meeting not imminent, as first US-Russia talks on Ukraine finish in Riyadh

  Negotiations Tuesday between Russia and the United States led by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio have concluded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The bilateral talks lasted about 4.5 hours and, according to Russian leader Vladimir Putin's top aide Yuri Ushakov, the negotiations "went well." However, a summit between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump is unlikely to take place next week, as "intensive work" is needed first, according to the aide. The U.S. State Department called the meeting an "important step forward" as Lavrov and Rubio agreed to form high-level negotiating teams to discuss a settlement to the war in Ukraine “as soon as possible in a way that is enduring, sustainable, and acceptable to all sides.”

• Saudi Arabia’s crown prince wins points for hosting the Russia-US summit on Ukraine

  Crown Prince Mohammed now finds himself at the center of the Trump administration’s outreach to Russia, a country Saudi Arabia carefully maintained ties to during the war through the OPEC+ oil cartel. And with Trump suggesting his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin — something Moscow hopes can bring it in from the cold of Western nations — will take place in Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed is likely to remain a top player. In the Saudi-owned, London-published newspaper Asharq Al Awsat, journalist Mishari al-Dhaidi described Tuesday’s U.S.-Russia summit as “restoring dialogue between the two poles of the world.” He called it “a major step on the international political chess arena, revealing the status of Saudi Arabia and its positive influence for the benefit of the people all the people.”

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