Rubio Arrives in Saudi Arabia, Hopes Tuesday’s Meeting with Ukrainians Will Go Well

 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with the media on his military airplane as he flies to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, March 10, 2025. (Saul Loeb/Pool Photo via AP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with the media on his military airplane as he flies to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, March 10, 2025. (Saul Loeb/Pool Photo via AP)
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Rubio Arrives in Saudi Arabia, Hopes Tuesday’s Meeting with Ukrainians Will Go Well

 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with the media on his military airplane as he flies to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, March 10, 2025. (Saul Loeb/Pool Photo via AP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with the media on his military airplane as he flies to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Monday, March 10, 2025. (Saul Loeb/Pool Photo via AP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday ahead of Tuesday's planned meeting between US officials and Ukrainians in Jeddah.

He expressed optimism over the talks, although he added that there were still more details to be worked out on the minerals deal between Washington and Kyiv.

Speaking to reporters en route to Jeddah where he, along with US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, will get together with a high-level Ukrainian delegation, Rubio said Washington needed to understand Kyiv's position and have a general idea of what concessions they'd make.



Mediator Qatar Says Israel ‘Did Not Abide’ by Gaza Truce Deal

 Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, left, at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, left, at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)
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Mediator Qatar Says Israel ‘Did Not Abide’ by Gaza Truce Deal

 Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, left, at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, left, at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said Thursday that Israel had failed to respect January’s ceasefire agreement in Gaza, as he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

“As you know, we reached an agreement months ago, but unfortunately Israel did not abide by this agreement,” said the ruler of Qatar, a key mediator of the deal.

A truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Qatar with Egypt and the United States, came into force on January 19, largely halting more than 15 months of fighting triggered by Palestinian fighters’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

The initial phase of the truce ended in early March, with the two sides unable to agree on the next steps. Israel resumed air and ground attacks across the Gaza Strip on March 18 after earlier halting the entry of aid.

Israel said Wednesday that it had converted 30 percent of Gaza into a buffer zone in the widening offensive.

Sheikh Tamim said Qatar would “strive to bridge perspectives in order to reach an agreement that ends the suffering of the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza.”

Putin recognized Qatar’s “serious efforts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict” and called deaths in the conflict “a tragedy.”

“A long-term settlement can only be achieved on the basis of the UN resolution and first of all connected to the establishment of two states,” he added.

Israel’s renewed assault has so far killed at least 1,691 people in Gaza, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory reported, bringing the overall toll since the war erupted to 51,065, most of them civilians.

Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.