The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has arrived in the Saudi capital ahead of his talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. According to media reports, Lavrov, along with an adviser to President Vladimir, was scheduled to fly to Riyadh yesterday to join the American delegation present there in order to start negotiations on how to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
No doubt, this development will augur well for the prospects of peace between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. The point that needs to be emphasized is that these talks are likely to precede a meeting between the US and Russian Presidents.
President Trump has been quoted as saying that he would meet in person with Putin in the near term, suggesting that could happen in Saudi Arabia. It is important to note that Wednesday’s Trump-Putin telephonic conversation had followed a prisoner swap that resulted in Russia releasing a Pennsylvania schoolteacher after more than three years of detention in return for a convicted Russian ‘criminal’.
However, Europe in general and Ukraine in particular are rightly miffed by Donald Trump’s approach to the conflict as he has sidelined them by all accounts.
But one must not lose sight of the fact that Trump’s approach to Russia-Ukraine conflict has attracted a lot of criticism. National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress, for example, has assailed the move by saying that “Trump has given the upper hand to Putin, a dictator and alleged war criminal.
He has given Russia free rein to decide Ukraine’s future, jeopardizing Ukrainian sovereignty, security, and prosperity. This isn’t just about being a bad partner to our European allies; it’s a critical national security failure.
A stronger Russia is a bad deal for Ukrainians, it’s a bad deal for Europeans, and it’s a bad deal for Americans who want to deter future Russian aggression against U.S. allies.
It raises the specter of a future, much more serious war that could involve U.S. troops. Congress should stand up for our collective security by preventing the rollback of sanctions as a reward for a Russian-enforced frozen conflict.“
Be that as it may, there’s little or no doubt about the fact that Donald Trump has been pursuing his agenda, including the Russia-Ukraine and Palestinians-Israeli conflicts, with a lightning speed ever since his return to the White House.
Shaista A. Rahman
Karachi
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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