Exclusive: Two Russian sources suggest that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates might host the Trump-Putin meeting

Two Russian sources familiar with the talks told Reuters that Russia views Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as potential locations for a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump has stated that he is prepared to meet with Putin and that he will put an end to the conflict in Ukraine as soon as feasible. Putin said he is prepared to meet with Trump to talk about Ukraine and energy, and he congratulated him on winning the election.

Russian authorities have denied on several occasions that they had direct communication with the United States over plans for Trump and Putin to speak over the phone before meeting later this year.

However, the Russian sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicate nature of the matter, claim that top Russian officials have recently been to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

According to one source, the concept was still met with some resistance in Russia since certain diplomats and intelligence officials were highlighting the tight military and security ties between the United States and the Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

Requests for response from the UAE and Saudi Arabia were not answered.
 
Kremlin officials declined to respond. However, Trump and Putin have cultivated cordial ties with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

According to Trump’s Sunday statement, his administration has “meetings and talks scheduled with various parties, including Ukraine and Russia.” Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Kremlin, responded to questions about the comments by saying that conversations were “apparently planned.”

The first foreign leader Trump phoned after assuming office was Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He called the Crown Prince “a fantastic guy” as he spoke to a crowd at the World Economic Forum in Davos via video hookup.

In September of last year, Putin, who traveled to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in 2023, expressed his gratitude to Mohammed bin Salman for his assistance in arranging the largest prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia since the Cold War.

Since the prince’s initial visit to Russia in 2015, Putin and Mohammed bin Salman, or MbS, have developed a strong personal friendship.

MBS AND PUTIN

The leaders of the two largest oil exporters in the world have been able to finalize and uphold the OPEC+ energy agreement because to the connection. As a possible negotiating tool for Russia in the negotiations, Trump urged Saudi Arabia and OPEC to reduce oil prices.

Throughout the conflict in Ukraine, Mohammed bin Salman and Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates, have remained neutral and have not joined the West in denouncing and condemning Russia.

Additionally, both leaders have been in touch with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on a frequent basis.

Throughout the conflict, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan made many trips to Russia, and on his most recent trip in October 2024, he said that he was prepared to assist with attempts to bring about peace in Ukraine. Prisoner swaps were also effectively facilitated by the UAE.

The International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Putin and barred him from traveling to several nations, including Brazil and South Africa, is not a member of either nation.

Turkey, a NATO member that held unsuccessful peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in March 2022, was rejected by the Russian sources as a potential location at this time.

Trump and Putin don’t have much of a choice, according to Russian analyst Fyodor Lukyanov, the powerful scientific head of the Valdai Discussion Club, whose members frequently meet with Putin.

“The majority of the Western world is supporting Ukraine. He was reported by the official TASS news agency as stating, “Therefore, all the traditional venues where such things used to take place, like Helsinki, Geneva, and Vienna, are not suitable.”

Despite their significant roles, Lukyanov pointed out that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are strong partners of the United States, which creates some concerns from the Russian perspective.

“However, as a venue for negotiations, it is probably quite conceivable,” he said. Regarding this news, Lukyanov declined to comment to Reuters.