By Janet Ekstract NEW YORK – Speaking at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday at a press conference, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth referenced Ukraine by emphasizing that “we have continued to provide what has been allocated.” He added, “I think it would be fair to say that things like future funding, either less or more, could be on the table in negotiations as well.” Hegseth said that it would be up to President Trump to determine “the most robust carrot or stick on either side to induce a durable peace, understanding, obviously, the motivations that Vladimir Putin has had on Ukraine for quite some time.” Hegseth stressed that he won’t be involved in any negotiations between Russia and Ukraine but that he would have more a back-seat role on Ukraine’s security than the previous defense secretary Lloyd Austin.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, President Trump announced that Saudi Arabia would most probably be the venue of choice for any peacemaking summit with Russian President Putin. Numerous other nations have offered their countries as possible venues for a Trump-Putin summit including Switzerland and Serbia. One reason is that experts note that Russian officials see any meeting in Europe as pro-Ukraine since a majority of nations in the EU condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, sources explained. Saudi Arabia has kept a neutral position and is not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) who issued an arrest warrant for Putin. This means Putin can travel there without risking arrest.
Analysts point out that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) as a de facto leader has created close ties with Trump, he was the first world leader to congratulate Trump after his swearing-in. MBS has also kept close ties to Putin since his invasion of Ukraine and the two share very similar personality and autocratic traits. Mideast observers also point out that MBS sees this as an opportunity to be seen as a ‘peacemaker’. Earlier this week, MBS was instrumental in the swap of U.S. and Russian detainees and he has a very strong friendship with Trump. Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff lauded MBS, saying he was “encouraging and using and looking for the right result and it was helpful, it really was.”
