US leaders in Saudi Arabia for peace talks on Russia-Ukraine war

(NewsNation) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Saudi Arabia on Monday for peace talks aimed at ending the nearly three-year-long war in Ukraine.

The talks come as European nations consider stepping up to defend Ukraine.

While the U.S. has stated Ukraine will be included in the discussions this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his country had not been invited to the table, raising concerns about the effectiveness of an agreement without Ukraine’s direct involvement.

Is Ukraine involved in peace talks?

Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and special envoy Steve Witkoff are set to meet with Russian officials in Riyadh on Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters Monday. It is unclear whether any Ukrainian representatives will participate in the talks.

Witkoff, however, insists Ukraine has been included in discussions, citing a recent meeting in Munich and a call with President Donald Trump.

Zelenskyy emphasized any deal made without Ukraine’s input is unacceptable.

“I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine. Never. And our people, never. And our adults, children and everybody, it can’t be so. The war in Ukraine is against us, and it is our human losses,” Zelsenkyy said.

Trump to meet with Putin ‘soon’

Witkoff spoke directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin for hours, and Trump teased a future meeting with Putin.

“Well, it’ll be soon. We’ll see what happens. But they’re meeting right now. And that’s more. I mean, this should have been done four years ago, three years ago, before it started. But it should have been done immediately after it started, as opposed to now, three years later,” Trump told reporters on Sunday.

During an NBC interview Sunday, Zelenskkyy compared the need to defend Ukraine to that of helping Israel against Iran, saying Ukraine needs similar security guarantees from the U.S. and Europe.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he’s “ready and willing” to deploy troops in Ukraine to enforce a peace deal.

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Ted Cruz snaps as Dem invokes  famous 2013 clash: ‘You’re not Dianne Feinstein’



Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) interrupted Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing Tuesday to tell the Texas Republican she felt "personally aggrieved" by his lecturing — only to have Cruz fire back by invoking the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, snapping, "You're not Dianne Feinstein."

The blowup came after Cruz delivered a lengthy monologue at a hearing on the Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais ruling — a 6-3 decision gutting Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act — accusing Democrats of believing Black candidates can only win in gerrymandered districts.

"The Democrats are fond of telling this story that is, and I wish I could find a kinder way to say it, a flat-out lie," Cruz said, rattling off Black Republican lawmakers elected in majority-white districts: Sen. Tim Scott, Reps. Burgess Owens, Byron Donalds, John James, and Wesley Hunt.

"In the Democrats' world, you're not Black if you're not a liberal Democrat," Cruz declared. "There is an arrogance to African American voters."

The Texas Republican then accused Democrats of being the real gerrymandering offenders, demanding to know how many Republicans represent New England in the U.S. House.

"Zero. Zero," Cruz said. "They've drawn every district in a naked gerrymander, and yet they're very upset that their illegal pursuit of power has now been stopped by the Supreme Court."

That's when Hirono cut in.

"Point of personal privilege," she said. "I feel personally aggrieved to sit here and to be lectured by my colleague from Texas."

Hirono then reached back more than a decade to invoke a now-famous clash between Cruz and Feinstein, who memorably told a freshman Cruz during a 2013 hearing on gun safety that she was "not a sixth grader."

"This reminds me of the time when he was first elected to the Senate, and the Judiciary Committee had a hearing on gun safety, and he felt a need to lecture Dianne Feinstein," Hirono said. "And she said to him, something along the lines of, 'I did not sit here on this committee for however many years she did, only to be lectured by you.'"

"And that is how I feel," Hirono continued. "So why don't you just stop lecturing the rest of us? Just because you think you are the smartest person in the world doesn't mean the rest of us agree with that."

Cruz didn't let it go.

"I knew Dianne Feinstein. I served with Dianne Feinstein," he shot back. "And you're not Dianne Feinstein."

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