The State Department announced on Wednesday that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio would visit Germany, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates from February 13-18 for high-level diplomatic talks.
Rubio’s trip will begin in Munich, Germany, with the Munich Security Conference on February 13. The annual gathering serves as a critical platform for world leaders, diplomats, and security experts to address pressing global challenges. According to State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, Rubio will also take part in the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, engaging with key US allies on international security and geopolitical issues.
Earlier in the day, President Donald Trump revealed that Rubio and Vice President JD Vance would lead a U.S. delegation for talks on Ukraine, following Trump’s recent calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. Discussion topics would include ways to halt hostilities in Ukraine and the search for potential diplomatic solutions.
After his engagements in Germany, Rubio will travel to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE from February 15-18. His meetings with senior officials in these nations will center on regional stability, security cooperation, and peace efforts, Bruce stated.
“The trip will center on freeing American and all other hostages from Hamas captivity, advancing to Phase II of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, and countering the destabilizing activities of the Iranian regime and its proxies,” she added.
Rubio’s visit comes at a particularly tense moment in the region. The fragile ceasefire in Gaza, which went into effect on January 19, has paused hostilities but left a dire humanitarian situation. The Israeli military campaign, now in its 15th month, has led to more than 48,200 Palestinian deaths, local health officials say, and reduced much of Gaza to rubble.
The diplomatic visit also comes on the heels of a controversial proposal from President Trump who most recently said the US should ” take over, own” Gaza, hoping to turn the war-damaged strip into the “Riviera of the middle east.” The idea has been roundly condemned throughout the Arab and Muslim world, and Palestinian leaders dismissed it as a land grab, not a serious initiative for peace, reconstruction and resettlement.
So far Arab governments, including those in Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E., have not publicly embraced the proposal, and many regional analysts say such a plan could ignite tensions further, not bring stability.
Rubio’s discussions in Saudi Arabia and the UAE are likely to broaden to Gulf security issues more generally, including ongoing attempts to curb Iranian influence in the region. Washington has accused Tehran for years of backing proxy groups throughout the Middle East, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and militias in Iraq and Syria.
In the pretext of high diplomatic tensions and the Middle Eastern governments keeping a distant look on the US ever-evolving stands in Trump’s Second term, Rubio’s visit to the critical Transcaucasia might be a massive impact on the US strategy for the upcoming months in the region. In this mission that must be carried through no matter what, the secretary of state is going to be closely watched as everyone is waiting for the results of his meetings.
The most wanted information that should be disclosed out of those might have to be the hostages situation in Gaza, the next phase of the ceasefire, and the broader geopolitical movements and competition in the Middle East.
