Picking Saudi Arabia as the “most likely venue” for a potential Trump-Putin summit on ending the war in Ukraine earned a spotlight from Bloomberg, arguing it reinforces the Kingdom’s role as an international power broker. Riyadh’s choice as a middle ground highlights the Saudi leadership’s close relations with both world leaders, and plays into the Kingdom’s plans of securing peace as a means to unlock FDI to push the diversification agenda, the outlet explains.

What the pundits said: US President Trump’s decision to host talks in Saudi Arabia “intends to bolster the kingdom’s role on the world stage,” Associate Fellow at Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa program Lina Khatib said, adding it also “validates Riyadh’s approach to foreign affairs, which is based on diversification of the kingdom’s diplomatic relations.”

Mediating Ukraine negotiations might help: The Kingdom is hopeful that it can leverage its relationship with Trump to reach an acceptable compromise regarding his plans for a US takeover of Gaza. Hosting Ukraine talks may “grease the wheels for its preferences and goals related to Gaza,” Director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative Jonathan Panikoff said.

BUT- Navigating Gaza’s crisis might prove complicated: Saudi’s strict public stance against displacing Gazans may still cause complications in US-Saudi relations. Saudi Arabia and other officials from the region have expressed a readiness to extend assistance to Egypt and Jordan if Trump withholds aid, the business news information service said citing an unnamed source.

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