US Secretary of State Meets Saudi Crown Prince: Hamas Must Be Excluded from Gaza Solution

Visit to Saudi Arabia for Ukraine High-Level Talks

U.S. Secretary of State Mark Rubio met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the 10th (local time) to discuss the Israel-Hamas war and other issues. / Photo by EPA and Yonhap News

U.S. Secretary of State Mark Rubio, who visited Saudi Arabia to discuss the end of the Ukraine war, met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the 10th (local time) to discuss the Israel-Hamas war, the U.S. Department of State announced.

During the evening meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed held in Jeddah, Secretary Rubio expressed the firm U.S. position that "any solution related to the Gaza Strip situation must not include the role of Hamas," according to a U.S. State Department spokesperson.

Secretary Rubio, accompanied by White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, also discussed the Houthi rebels, a Shiite armed group in Yemen, the Yemen issue, the situation in Syria, and ways to establish a stable government free of terrorism.

Rubio and his delegation will remain in Jeddah until the 12th to discuss with the Ukrainian delegation ways to end the Ukraine war and the U.S.-Ukraine mineral agreement. Attention is focused on whether the two sides will be able to reconcile conflicts following the disastrous summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the 28th of last month and create a breakthrough for peace negotiations.

Additionally, there is interest in whether an agreement will be reached on the "mineral agreement," which centers on U.S. participation and profit sharing in the development of strategic minerals such as rare earth elements within Ukrainian territory. Originally, the two countries planned to hold a signing ceremony for the mineral agreement during the White House summit on February 28, but the ceremony was canceled after the summit ended in a breakdown amid a heated argument between the two presidents.

Meanwhile, after the U.S.-Ukraine high-level talks conclude, Secretary Rubio and his delegation will travel to Canada to attend the Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers' meeting from the 12th to the 14th. Secretary Rubio is expected to advocate a foreign policy agenda based on President Trump's "America First" doctrine.