US President Donald Trump announced today that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Turkey this week for talks on Ukraine.
"The talks will be held in Turkey later this week, certainly on Thursday, and they could produce good results," Trump said in Riyadh, adding, "Marko will be there."
Russia called for direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday, but it did not specify in what format Russia would participate in those talks.
Trump, who is in Riyadh as part of a Middle East tour, had hinted that he might also travel to Turkey to attend the Russian-Ukrainian talks, but now it appears he has decided to send his secretary of state.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed meeting directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul and said he will travel there. He has not received a response from Russia.
Trump also announced in Riyadh today that he is lifting sanctions on Syria, a day before a scheduled brief meeting with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharia in Saudi Arabia.
"I will order the lifting of sanctions on Syria to give them a chance for peace," the US president said, adding that he decided to do so at the insistence of his host, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Trump is scheduled to meet tomorrow with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharia, a former rebel and member of the extremist group that led the overthrow of former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad last year.
"There's a new government there that will hopefully succeed," Trump said of Syria, adding, "I say good luck, Syria. Show us something special."
The United States has been weighing how to deal with al-Shahreh since he took power in December. Gulf leaders have supported the new government in Damascus and want Trump to do the same, seeing it as a bulwark against a resurgence of Iranian influence in Syria. Iran helped prop up Assad's government during the decade-long civil war.
Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, left it up to Trump to decide whether to recognize the new Syrian government. Sanctions imposed on Damascus under Assad are also still in place.
The White House announced before Trump's statement that Trump would briefly greet the Syrian president tomorrow in Saudi Arabia.
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