Munich, Saudi Arabia to Host US-Russia Talks to End Ukraine War

WASHINGTON, FRIDAY – US President Donald Trump has launched a kick-off for peace talks to end the Ukraine-Russia war. The initial meeting will be attended by high-ranking US and Russian officials in Munich, Germany, this Friday (2/14/2025).

The next meeting is scheduled for Saudi Arabia next week. The United Arab Emirates is also interested in hosting Ukraine-Russia peace talks.

Trump stated that Ukraine was also invited to the meeting in Munich this Friday. "They will meet in Munich tomorrow. Russia will be present to meet our people. Ukraine is also invited. It has not been confirmed who will attend to represent those countries," said Trump in Washington DC, Thursday (13/2/2025) local time or early Friday morning Western Indonesian Time.

Kyiv has asserted that it will not meet with the Russian delegation. The advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Dmytro Lytvyn, stated that Ukraine will not participate in dialogue with Russia. This contradicts Trump's statement.

According to Kyiv, the US, Europe and Ukraine need to align their common positions before negotiating with Moscow.

When asked about the details of the planned discussions in Munich, the White House declined to provide further information. Political, military, and diplomatic leaders will meet at the Munich Security Conference, which is held annually. This time, the conference will begin this Friday.

The Russian Embassy in Washington DC and the Permanent Mission of Russia to the United Nations did not respond to media requests for comments regarding Trump's statement.

Trump continued, after the meeting at the Munich Security Conference, there will be a follow-up meeting in Saudi Arabia, among senior officials. "President Putin and I will not be present. Senior officials will attend and Ukraine is also still invited," said Trump.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has informed the US that Abu Dhabi also wants to host negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet with US Vice President JD Vance and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio before the Munich Security Conference.

President Trump's move has raised concerns among Western European leaders that they are being left out of the Ukraine-Russia peace process. There are concerns that the peace talks are heavily favoring Russia and endangering Western European security.

President Trump's move has raised concerns among Western European leaders. In addition to being left out of the Ukraine-Russia peace process, they are concerned that the peace talks are heavily in Russia's favor and endanger Western European security.

Trump said Wednesday he had a "favorable" call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They agreed to hold talks soon. Trump then called and briefed Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy has publicly said his phone call with Trump was warm, but warned against blindly believing Putin would end the war.

Zelenskyy will also have a hard time getting the support of Vice President JD Vance. Vance, as a senator, expressed doubts about continuing to support Ukraine. At the 2024 Munich Security Conference, Vance said the US's priorities were Asia and the Middle East.

Even on the 2022 list, Vance said he didn't care what happened in Uraina.

Trump's policy toward Putin is a reversal from President Biden's support for Ukraine and continued pressure on Putin. Under Biden, the US isolated Putin from international relations after Russia's attack on Ukraine in February 2022.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made comments that further unsettled Western allies by saying Ukraine must accept that peace would not return Ukraine to the situation it was in before 2014.

At that time, Russia annexed Crimea. Hegseth also added that Ukraine would not be a member of NATO.

Officially, Russia was not invited to the Munich Conference. However, it is possible that meetings between US and Russian officials will be held somewhere other than the Munich Conference arena.

Before the conference began, an attack occurred in Munich. An immigrant drove a car into a crowd of protesters from the Verdi Trade Union, injuring 28 people.

The attack took place ahead of the German general election scheduled for February 23, 2025. Immigration and security issues are high on the campaign agenda in the German election.

The Ukrainian presidential office said there were no plans for dialogue with Russia at the Munich Security Conference. Zelenskyy's adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said Ukraine would not take part in dialogue with Russia.

"A common position with the Western Allies must be agreed before entering into dialogue with Russia. At the moment there are no such plans between us. Meetings with Russia are not on the cards," Lytvyn said.

According to him, Ukraine's position is still the same in discussing peace. Ukraine must first have a dialogue with the United States. Europe must also be involved in the discussion to ensure long-term peace.

Lytvyn spoke shortly after Trump in Washington DC announced plans for a meeting of top officials from Moscow, Kyiv and Washington in Munich. (AFP/Reuters)