Saudi Arabia backs 'all initiatives' to end Ukraine war, MBS tells Putin

RIYADH: After dialogue between US and Ukraine in Jeddah suggested a 30-day truce, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday that the kingdom supports "all initiatives" to halt the war in Ukraine.

According to a foreign ministry statement, the crown prince talked with Putin on telephone and reiterated Saudi Arabia's "commitment to facilitating dialogue and supporting all initiatives aimed at achieving a political resolution".

On Thursday Putin said he had "serious questions" about the ceasefire plan, which was announced after talks in the western Saudi Arabian city on Tuesday.

Washington also agreed to resume military intelligence and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, which it shut off after President Volodymyr Zelensky's White House row with President Donald Trump.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in Jeddah after the talks, said the "ball is now in (Russia's) court".

According to a Kremlin statement, Putin told Prince Mohammed that he "noted the importance of resolving the Ukrainian crisis and expressed readiness to continue to contribute in every possible way to the normalisation of Russian-American relations".

Saudi Arabia also hosted talks between Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov last month where they agreed to establish teams to negotiate a path to ending the three-year war.