On the surface, the announcement that Saudi Arabia would host talks between the US and Ukraine in Jeddah that began this week appeared to be promising news.
After the disastrous meeting between the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Donald Trump in the White House last month, a more neutral location for this meeting of lower-level figures makes sense in terms of trying to dial down the temperature.
The real question, however, is how neutral Saudi Arabia and its crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, actually are and why the talks are being held there and not in a European capital, for instance.
The reality is that Saudi Arabia is primarily a comfortable location for the Trump administration. In his first term in office, Trump’s first foreign visit was to Saudi Arabia,…
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Guardian Weekly (Digital) - 1 Issue, 14 March 2025