Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the country, on Monday in anticipation of a summit on Tuesday to discuss an end to the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Saudi news outlet Al Arabiya published an extensive look on Friday at the status of Neom, a futuristic city Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is building in the northwest of the country, that described it as a bustling “family friendly” community – a far cry from widespread reports of violence, drug abuse, and mismanagement of construction sites previously reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said he postponed a visit to Saudi Arabia to express his disapproval of the United States and Russia beginning bilateral negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday as part of his first tour of the Middle East as America’s top diplomat, reportedly emphasizing the importance of rehabilitating Gaza in his talks in Riyadh.
The Foreign Ministry of Saudi Arabia confirmed on Friday it is interested in hosting a summit between President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the near future after Trump floated the possibility.
President Donald Trump said on Sunday he remains “committed to buying and owning Gaza,” despite considerable pushback from U.S. allies in Europe and the Middle East.
The Foreign Ministry of Saudi Arabia dashed off a heated rejection of President Donald Trump’s surprise proposal to take over Gaza within minutes of Trump’s remarks on Tuesday night.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa made his first trip overseas since his formal appointment as head of state on Sunday, receiving a warm welcome in Saudi Arabia.
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman told President Donald Trump in a phone call that his country hoped to invest at least $600 billion in American ventures in the next four years, the Saudi Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday.
The energy minister of Saudi Arabia announced on Monday that the country has plans to make “yellowcake,” a uranium concentrate used a nuclear power plant fuel, and sell enriched uranium to the world.
Saudi Arabia’s Neom project was meant to be the city of the future, the crowning achievement of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s “Saudi Vision 2030” plan to diversify the national economy away from oil. Unfortunately, the construction site for the city of the future has been plagued by complaints of gang rape, drinking, drugs, and attempted suicide by the 100,000 workers assembled there.
Saudi Arabia abruptly replaced Nadhmi al-Nasr, the longtime CEO of its ambitious and controversial “megacity” Neom project, on Tuesday, several outlets reported.
Prince Turki bin Faisal al-Saud, former Saudi ambassador to the United States, has written an open letter to President-elect Donald Trump asking him to “finish what you started the last time you occupied the White House” with respect to Middle Eastern affairs.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol told a senior Saudi official in Seoul on Tuesday that his country is potentially a “best partner” to cooperate on a variety of issues of mutual interest, most prominently defense development and technology.
The government of Saudi Arabia hosted the inaugural meeting of the “International Alliance to Implement the Two-State Solution,” a nebulous coalition organized by Riyadh to formalize the creation of a Palestinian state.
The government of Russia confirmed on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia is not yet an official member of the anti-American BRICS coalition, claiming that the Middle East will formalize its position one way or the other at this month’s summit.
The government of Saudi Arabia will reportedly end an eight-year embargo on funding to the Palestinian Authority (PA) with millions of dollars in relief money for the “humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and surrounding areas.”
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, de facto chief executive of Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday condemned the “crimes of the Israeli occupation” against Palestinians.
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), said Wednesday that there would be no “normalization” of relations with Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state — a reversal of his position one year ago.
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman traveled to Beijing on Tuesday to meet with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun and Gen. Zhang Youxia, vice-chair of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and China’s highest-ranking uniformed official.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an unannounced stop in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday for a brief meeting with that nation’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss the ongoing Russian invasion of his country and a scheduled “peace summit” to address it.
The president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, signed a “Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)” alongside South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk-yeol in Seoul on Wednesday, dramatically expanding trade between the two countries.
A former colonel in the Saudi military and ex-intelligence officer told the BBC on the record Wednesday that the Saudi government ordered troops to kill indigenous people who resisted eviction on the land that Riyadh hopes to turn into the state-of-the-art “megacity” Neom.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, on Monday evening to discuss an Israeli “ceasefire” against the Hamas terrorist organization and “greater integration” in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia is expecting “around a million guests a year” to visit its oil rig-themed “adventure tourism” park that will feature an underwater restaurant, “immersive theater,” and multiple hotels, the executive in charge of the project told the Emirati newspaper The National on Tuesday.
Reports began surfacing suggesting that Saudi Arabia is recalibrating its ambitious goals for the under-construction “megacity” Neom.
Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.N. was elected chair of the Commission on the Status of Women despite the kingdom’s abysmal record.
Saudi Arabia’s national oil company, Aramco, on Sunday reported near-record profits of $121 billion in 2023. The eye-catching total might seem a bit surprising given media narratives that fossil fuels are on the way out, but Aramco found demand for oil stronger than ever, albeit distributed somewhat differently than in years past.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky briefly visited Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, receiving a warm greeting from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and engaging in what Zelensky called a “candid and meaningful conversation.”
Saudi Arabia never finalized its membership in the BRICS economic and political coalition, a South African diplomat confirmed.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said in an interview published Tuesday that the Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank, was a “capable and credible” entity that should be considered a contender to govern both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, united in a hypothetical state of “Palestine.”
The South Korean Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday announced Saudi Arabia has agreed to purchase a $3.2 billion surface-to-air missile defense system, while China gushed that its weapons “attracted great interest” from the Saudis at a defense show in Riyadh over the weekend. The Saudis are also making strides with indigenously produced military systems, perhaps marking the definitive end of the Kingdom’s dependence upon the United States for defense products.
South Korea and Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly research and develop new weapons technology.
The Indian Defense Ministry announced this week that it had begun a joint army exercise alongside Saudi Arabia named “Sada Tanseeq,” or “Forever in Coordination,” expected to run through February 10.
Just one day after receiving a ten-year sentence for mishandling documents, former Pakistani PM Imran Khan got 14 years for corruption.
The government of Saudi Arabia has reportedly opened its first liquor store since alcohol was banned in the early 1950s.
Antony Blinken said Saudi Arabia had an “interest” in normalizing ties with Israel but wanted the creation of a “Palestinian state.”
The industry publication Energy Intelligence reported that South Korea increased the amount of crude oil it imported from Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave Russian strongman Vladimir Putin a warm welcome to Riyadh on Wednesday, proclaiming him a “cherished guest” of the country and signing a variety of agreements on space, sports, investment, energy, defense, and tourism, among other subjects.
The troubled Middle East is about to have a new diplomatic player on the ground with the Kremlin announcing Russia President Vladimir Putin will on Wednesday travel to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
