Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has assured Russian President Vladimir Putin of the kingdom’s support for “all initiatives” aimed at ending the Ukraine conflict, according to an official statement released on Friday. The remarks came after discussions in Jeddah between U.S. and Ukrainian officials proposed a 30-day ceasefire.
During a phone call with Putin, the crown prince reiterated Saudi Arabia’s “commitment to facilitating dialogue and backing all efforts toward a political resolution,” as stated by the Saudi foreign ministry.
Putin, however, expressed “serious questions” about the ceasefire proposal, which emerged from negotiations in western Saudi Arabia earlier this week.
Meanwhile, the United States has decided to resume military intelligence and information-sharing with Ukraine, reversing its earlier suspension following tensions between President Volodymyr Zelensky and former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Speaking in Jeddah after the discussions, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that “the ball is now in Russia’s court.”
According to a statement from the Kremlin, Putin emphasized the importance of resolving the Ukraine conflict and expressed Russia’s willingness to contribute toward the normalization of Russian-American relations.
Saudi Arabia has played an active role in diplomatic efforts to end the war. Last month, the kingdom hosted talks between Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, where both sides agreed to establish negotiation teams focused on finding a path to resolving the conflict.
