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The Saudi prince's role in President Trump's efforts to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza

2025-02-19 17:28:30Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
The Saudi prince's role in President Trump's efforts to end the wars
Mohammed bin Salman

WASHINGTON — Senior U.S. and Russian officials wrapped up meetings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, during which they discussed the possibility of ending the war in Ukraine. The meeting came days before Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is to gather the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to discuss Arab states’ response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge to take control of Gaza.

Both of these developments reflect the prince's growing role in President Trump's efforts to fulfill his election campaign promises to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

On Tuesday, President Trump again declared that he would end the fighting very soon.

"I have the power to end this war," Mr. Trump declared from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, dismissing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's concerns about Kiev's exclusion from the Riyadh meeting.

“You were there for three years, you should have ended it,” he said, referring to Mr. Zelensky in response to a reporter’s question. “I would make a deal for Ukraine that would give them almost all of the territory.”

President Trump did not clarify which part of the territory would remain with Ukraine.

Russia began its offensive against Ukraine in February 2022 and now controls parts of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, while fighting continues in Kharkiv and Mykolaiv. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

The talks held in Saudi Arabia signaled a major escalation between Washington and Moscow and an abrupt end to the US policy pursued by former President Joe Biden to isolate Russia and support Ukraine "for as long as necessary."

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke of the "tremendous opportunities that exist for partnership with the Russians" on trade and other global issues, once the war is over.

Arab response to Gaza plan

Later this week, Prince Mohammed is expected to host a joint meeting with the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to discuss the Arab stance on President Trump's pledge to take control of Gaza and create what he has called a "riviera in the Middle East" by moving Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring countries.

Mr. Trump's plan has angered regional leaders, who are trying to come up with a counter-proposal to discuss in Riyadh ahead of the broader Arab League meeting, to be held in Cairo next week.

One of the Arab proposals being discussed is an Egyptian-led plan that includes the creation of a Palestinian National Committee to govern Gaza without Hamas, which aims to raise $20 billion from Arab and Gulf states over the next three years for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

As Saudi Arabia tries to break into the diplomatic mainstream, Prince Mohammed is seeking to lead the process rather than be reactive, to offer pragmatism rather than rigidity, says Middle East analyst Laura Blumenfeld at Johns Hopkins University.

She told VOA that the prince could offer his approach and language that President Trump likes to use, such as investments.

On Wednesday, global finance and technology leaders will gather in Miami, Florida, for a conference hosted by the Institute for Future Investment, the nonprofit arm of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund led by the prince. President Trump is expected to address the attendees.

“President Trump is seeking peace, he is rushing and aiming for the Nobel Prize. The prince is a deal-maker, he is rushing and aiming to fulfill the plan for economic diversification, Saudi Vision 2030,” Blumenfeld adds. “The two are a pair that have come together in ‘transactional heaven.'”

Mediator Prince Mohammed

With his efforts focused on Ukraine and Gaza, the 39-year-old leader of Saudi Arabia has emerged as a mediator on whom President Trump is relying to achieve his foreign policy goals.

Prince Mohammed has risen to this role in part by capitalizing on close ties forged during Mr. Trump's first term, maintaining business relationships while Mr. Trump was out of office and expanding them since his inauguration last month.

President Trump made his first foreign visit to Saudi Arabia in 2017, where he signed several agreements, including a $110 billion arms deal that would total $350 billion over a 10-year period.

President Trump has been outspoken about the transactional nature of the visit, telling reporters just days after his inauguration in January that the reason he chose Riyadh for his first foreign visit was "because they agreed to buy $450 billion worth of our products."

On inauguration day for his second term, President Trump suggested that Saudi Arabia would once again be his first destination in exchange for Saudi funds, and a few days later, during a phone call, the prince told him that he plans to invest $600 billion or more in the United States over the next four years.

In 2021, Saudi Arabia invested $2 billion in a company owned by Mr. Trump's son-in-law and former adviser, Jared Kushner. The Trump Organization has also expanded its real estate presence in the region, announcing that it had given its name to two property projects in Riyadh in December, following the start of construction of the Trump Tower in Jeddah.

While Prince Mohammed is cultivating his political and business relationship with Mr. Trump, he has maintained relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite former President Biden's efforts to isolate the Russian leader after his attack on Ukraine.

"The crown prince has argued over the past five years that it is in America's interest for Saudi Arabia to maintain very good relations with Russia and China," says author and analyst on Saudi political and economic affairs, Ali Shihabi.

"Saudi Arabia has insisted on pursuing a multipolar policy while maintaining very close relations with the United States," he told VOA.

The prince is expected to host the meeting between the two leaders, a meeting announced by Mr. Trump after his phone call with Mr. Putin last week. The meeting, according to Mr. Shihabi, will be an example of how the prince's moves are paying off.

"I don't think there is any other leader in the world who has a relationship like the crown prince has with Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump," he declared.

There is also a practical reason for this. The kingdom has not signed the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Putin in 2023./ VOA


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