DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s crown prince wasn’t in the room for the first high-level talks between Russia and the United States over Moscow’s war on Ukraine on Tuesday, but Mohammed bin Salman still won the day for hosting the gathering that could be a game-changer in the bloody conflict.

Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman likely garnered Donald Trump's attention when he announced plans for a USD 600 billion investment in the United States.

After meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on the 16th, Minister Rubio continues his Middle East tour and will meet with the U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Whitcomb, and others on the 18th in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, to discuss ways to end the Ukraine war.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Monday. The meeting came a day before US and Russian officials are due to hold talks in Saudi Arabia on ending the war in Ukraine.

Sudan's RSF have killed more than 200 people in attacks on villages around the town of al-Gitaina in White Nile state over the past three days, an activist group said.

Russia said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would hold talks with top U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on Tuesday that will focus on ending the war in Ukraine and restoring broader Russia-U.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Saudi Arabia preparing to hold critical U.S.-Russia talks on Ukraine, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in the UAE. Mina Al-Oraibi, Editor-in-Chief of The National,

Marco Rubio’s visit to Riyadh, his first as secretary of state, came amid uncertainty about the future of Gaza and Ukraine and criticism of unilateral U.S. moves over the wars in both places.