Ukraine talks spark EU paranoia

MUNICH, Germany (AFP) —European leaders on Saturday scrambled to force their way to the table for any talks on the Ukraine war, as Washington announced a team of senior United States (US) officials was planning to meet in Saudi Arabia with counterparts from Moscow and Kyiv.

US President Donald Trump upended the status quo this week when he announced he was likely to soon meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin to start talks to end the conflict, leaving US allies in Europe concerned their interests would be sidelined.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will head to Saudi Arabia for ceasefire talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, US officials said Saturday, without giving details on when the meeting would happen.

Rubio had already been due to visit Saudi Arabia as part his first tour of the Middle East, which began Saturday when he arrived in Israel, an Agence France-Presse journalist reported.

The top US diplomat also had a call Saturday with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, in which he “reaffirmed President Trump’s commitment to finding an end to the conflict in Ukraine,” spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.

In Munich, North Atlantic Treaty Organization chief Mark Rutte said Europe had to come up with “good proposals” for securing peace in Ukraine if it wanted to be involved in US-led talks.

“If Europeans want to have a say, make yourself relevant,” Rutte told journalists at a gathering of top policymakers.