Because of the political clout it has accrued from its enormous oil reserves, Saudi Arabia has become an important actor in the quest for a peace accord between Russia and Ukraine that the United States has mediated.
Trump has proposed Riyadh as a venue for a meeting with Putin to begin formal negotiations between the two leaders of Russia. Putin was in agreement that the site was OK. The Middle Eastern monarchy has reasons to become involved in finding a resolution to the crisis taking place thousands of kilometers away from its borders, which may appear strange to others.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would further establish himself as a world leader if he were to mediate peace talks. In addition, it gives him an advantage against Qatar, which played a significant role in the discussions between Israel and Hamas. Since 2023, Qatar has also played a role in reuniting scores of Ukrainian children who were abducted by Russia while the country was at war.
In his remarks, Trump brought up the fact that he and Putin are both friends with the Saudis. “We know the crown prince, and I think it’d be a very good place to be,” he pointed out.
This is why Steve Witkoff, who is Trump’s special representative for the Middle East, has been closely watching American diplomacy in Eastern Europe. Marc Fogel, an American educator who was held by the Kremlin in 2021 on accusations of importing medicinal marijuana into Russia, and Witkoff, who travelled to Moscow this week, came home with Fogel. The “instrumental” role that Prince Mohammed had in arranging the release was acknowledged by Witkoff.
The special envoy he initially appointed, retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, was omitted from Trump’s Wednesday Truth Social post in which he named Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Witkoff to spearhead peace negotiations. His phone conversations with Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine, preceded the post.
When it comes to determining oil prices throughout the world, the Saudi monarchy is unrivaled. The Kremlin receives a larger share of the profit from Russia’s exports when oil prices are high.
Revenue from oil and gas sales in Russia reached $108.22 billion in 2024, up 26% from the previous year, as reported by Reuters.
Trump has long advocated for the OPEC member states to increase oil production and decrease world prices in the hopes that Russia would be more amenable to discussions if its war funds were emptied.
“At this point in time, the cost is significant enough that that conflict will persist,” Trump said executives during last month’s World Economic Forum in Davos.
“You got to bring down the oil price,” he pointed out. The conflict will be over then. Maybe you could put a stop to the conflict.
Compared to Biden’s government, Trump’s is significantly closer to the Saudis; yet, ties may become strained due to Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to neighboring nations and then take over the land. A total of $600 billion might be invested in the United States by bin Salman in the coming four years.
Prior to his statements at Davos, Trump had a conversation with bin Salman, during which he mentioned asking “the Crown Prince, who’s a fantastic guy, to round it out to around $1 trillion.”
Iran, an ally of both the Saudis and the Ukrainians, has been supplying Russia with weaponry, including Shahed drones, for quite some time.
“The [Iran-backed] Houthis have deployed Iranian weaponry against Saudi Arabia, targeting critical infrastructure, including oil pipelines and airports,” tweeted Daniel Balson of the advocacy organization Razom for Ukraine. “In fact, repeated Houthi attacks against highly urbanized targets like Khamis Mushait in Saudi Arabia have served as a prelude for Russia’s use of drone warfare against Ukrainian cities.”
Zelenskyy was asked by bin Salman to speak at a gathering of Arab leaders in Jeddah in May 2023. Putin and bin Salman met behind closed doors with officials from forty nations later that year to discuss ways to stop the conflict, but Russia was conspicuously absent.
In August, Putin extended his gratitude to Saudi Arabia for its assistance in arranging the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War, which resulted in the release of 26 individuals.
