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Why Trump chose Saudi Arabia for Putin summit

Politiko 2025-02-13 18:45:00

Why Trump chose Saudi Arabia for Putin summit

President Donald Trump's announcement on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia would likely host his peacekeeping summit with Vladimir Putin may have seemed like an unusual choice.

In the past, American presidents have convened talks with their Russian counterparts in Geneva, Helsinki, Prague, Vienna and Bratislava – all in Europe, where the relationship between Washington and Moscow has profound implications.

A number of other countries have been offered as possible locations for a future Trump-Putin summit, including Serbia and Switzerland.

But Russian officials had seen a meeting in Europe as potentially weighted toward Ukraine, given most European nations' condemnation of Russia's invasion and support for Kiev over the course of the three-year conflict, according to CNN . 

In contrast, Saudi Arabia has maintained a neutral stance, not criticizing Moscow or joining the West in implementing sanctions.

Saudi Arabia is also not a member of the International Criminal Court, which has issued a warrant for Putin, meaning the Russian leader can travel there for talks without risking arrest.

It is the de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), who has cultivated close ties with the president, illustrated last month when he became the first world leader to speak to him on the phone after his inauguration.

MBS is also one of several powerful world leaders who have maintained close ties with Putin since the invasion of Ukraine. The two share several autocratic traits, including a deadly crackdown on dissent.

"We know the crown prince, and I think it would be a very good place to be," Trump said Wednesday in the Oval Office.

 

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