Marco Rubio met with the Saudi prince on the eve of negotiations with Russia to stop war in Ukraine

Marco Rubio met with Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. After finishing his first overseas tour in Central America, the secretary of state traveled to Israel and then to Riyadh, amidst the need to increase military and economic cooperation with the Saudi kingdom. The meeting took place in the framework of the upcoming negotiations to end the war between Ukraine and Russia.

In addition to Rubio, both Mike Waltz and Steve Witkoff will arrive in Saudi Arabia to be part of the negotiations with the Russian diplomatic corps.

As for his meeting with bin Salman, and according to a State Department statement, Rubio "looked forward to increased economic and defense cooperation between the United States and Saudi Arabia and committed to further strengthening the bilateral partnership."

In turn, they "discussed the future of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and discussed ways to advance shared interests in Syria, Lebanon, and across the region, to include Red Sea security and freedom of navigation."

The Florida senator also met with Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, the Saudi foreign minister.

"We reaffirmed our commitment to implementing the ceasefire in Gaza and ensuring Hamas releases all hostages. We also discussed ways to enhance our economic and defense cooperation, and advance our shared interests in stability and prosperity across the region," Rubio himself posted on his X account.

Rubio is expected to meet in the coming days with Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Vladimir Putin. The meeting between the two delegations is scheduled for Tuesday, February 18, and "will be devoted primarily to the restoration of the entire complex of Russian-American relations."

If it occurs, it would be the first face-to-face meeting between Lavrov and Rubio. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the two "expressed a shared commitment to engaging on key international issues, including the situation in Ukraine, developments in Palestine and the broader Middle East, as well as other regional matters."

"Sergey Lavrov and Marco Rubio reaffirmed their readiness to restore a respectful and constructive interstate dialogue in line with the approach set by the presidents. They agreed to maintain regular contact, including discussions on preparations for a potential high-level Russian-American summit," they added.