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.

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.

Saudi Arabia is hosting historic US-Russia talks, aiming to resolve the Ukraine war. This significant diplomatic move boosts Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's international stature. The discussions,

The Saudi response was swift — reiterating Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s demands for an independent Palestinian state as part of any normalization agreement and rejecting the “infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people” or “attempts to displace” them from their land.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed plans for Gaza during a meeting on Monday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said. Rubio is visiting the Middle East after President Donald Trump infuriated the Arab world with a proposal for the Palestinian residents of the war-torn strip to be resettled in other Arab nations and for the U.