A number of media outlets in the US and Russia are reporting that the talks will begin on Tuesday in the Saudi Arabia capital of Riyadh.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz are all traveling to the gulf state for the discussions. Trump has also said he expects to meet Putin "very soon".

Ukraine has notably not been invited to these talks in Riyadh - something which has alarmed European leaders - Rubio has said they will be part of "real" negotiations later if those do begin, but insisted "we're not there yet".

Katya Adler
BBC Europe editor reporting from Paris

Europe's leaders are scrambling. Their hastily convened security summit in Paris on Monday is proof of that.

They are still reeling from not being invited by the US to talks with Russia over the future of Ukraine - and the outcome of those talks could have ramifications for the whole continent's security too.

Can Europe, under pressure, put political differences and domestic economic concerns aside, and come up with a united front on security spending and on Ukraine's future, including potentially sending troops there - to force themselves a spot at the negotiating table?

Read more about what is at stake for Europe here.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had ahead of the talks between the US and Russia played down expectations of reaching a breakthrough.

"A process towards peace is not a one-meeting thing," he told the BBC's US partner CBS.

When asked about his role in the process, he said "right now there is no process".

He noted that if "real negotiations" began, Ukraine would "have to be involved", as will other European countries, adding "we're just not there yet".

Ukraine, which has not been invited to the peace talks with Russia, wants the return of territory seized by Russia since 2014, and to be admitted into the protection of the Nato military alliance. It also wants help - likely in the form or troops or weapons - from allies in ensuring its security long term.

However while the US has previously been supportive, Trump's team has poured cold water on most of those suggestions.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said a return to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is "unrealistic", and also said Nato membership for Ukraine as a result of this peace settlement wasn't realistic either. He has also said US troops will not play a role in any long term security arrangement in Ukraine.

Ukraine's allies across Europe feel differently - but it is the US which has been Ukraine's biggest financial and military backer up until this point.

Read more about the key issues here.

Image source, Getty Images

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he is prepared to deploy troops to Ukraine if needed - ahead of an emergency summit that will be held later today by European leaders.

The PM had written an article in the Daily Telegraph on Sunday in which he said he was willing to put "our own troops on the ground if necessary" adding "any role in helping to guarantee Ukraine's security is helping to guarantee the security of our continent and the security of this country".

Leaders from France, the UK, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain and Denmark will reportedly attend the summit in Paris later today - with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte also expected to be present.

A US delegation are preparing to meet with Russian representatives in Saudi Arabia to begin negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff are among those expected to attend. It is not clear yet who might be part of Russia's delegation. It's also unclear when exactly the talks might begin.

A senior Ukrainian government source has told the BBC they were not invited to be a part of the talks - with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressing that he would not accept any peace deal negotiated without Ukraine.

Meanwhile, European leaders are also set to meet in Paris today to discuss the situation in Ukraine, with leaders from France, UK, Germany, Spain and Italy among those in attendance.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest on this.

Lisa Lambert
BBC News, Washington

It's four days since Donald Trump shocked Ukraine and its European allies by revealing he had held a "lengthy" phone call with Vladimir Putin, in which the two leaders agreed to immediately begin negotiations to end the war.

Tonight, Trump's closest foreign policy advisers, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, are traveling to Saudi Arabia to begin negotiations with their Russian counterparts - without Ukrainian involvement.

We learned today that Ukrainian officials were not invited to Saudi Arabia, adding to fears that the US and Russia could attempt to impose an unfavourable deal on Kyiv.

US officials have sought to assuage those concerns, saying Ukraine could be involved in future talks.

As the US and Russia meet, European leaders have been scrambling to catch up with America's plans after Trump's special envoy said Europe would not participate in peace talks.

French President Emmanuel Macron will convene a meeting on Monday between European heads of government, Nato officials and other leaders. At the Munich security conference this weekend, where much of the diplomatic action around Ukraine has unfolded, Zelensky called for an "army of Europe".

As our international correspondent Lyse Doucet writes, there’s a realisation in Europe that the old transatlantic partnership between the US and Europe is "broken".

We are pausing our live coverage of this fast-moving story, but will be back with any big developments.

Until then, you can dive deeper into the twists and turns with these stories:

Ukraine not invited to US-Russia peace talks, source tells BBC

US isolation threatens global democracy, warns Major

Trump administration's mixed messaging on foreign policy leaves world guessing, external

Donald Trump's administration has been accelerating action to end the war in Ukraine, in a drastic shift in US policy on the conflict.

Here's a run-down of the key moments day-by-day:

Wednesday 12 February: Trump shocks European allies by revealing he had a "lengthy" phone call with Russian President, with both leaders agreeing to begin negotiations to end the Ukraine war

Thursday 13 February: Zelensky says Ukraine will not agree to any peace deal drawn up without its involvement. European allies back him

Friday 14 February: JD Vance uses his Munich Security Conference speech to scald European democracies, almost entirely ignoring Ukraine – the conference’s key focus

Saturday 15 February: In his own speech to the conference, Zelensky calls for the creation of an “army of Europe”. The US announces peace talks will be held in Saudi Arabia. But it provokes further consternation by saying Europe will be consulted but not involved in the negotiations

Sunday 16 February: The BBC learns that Kyiv has not been invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia. European leaders schedule an emergency summit in Paris to discuss the war and European security

The US sent a document to European governments asking what the countries could contribute towards Ukraine's security arrangements, it has emerged.

The questionnaire sent last week, obtained by Reuters, also asked European nations what they would need from Washington to participate in security arrangements.

The document consisted of six points and questions, asking which countries could contribute to Ukraine's security, and which would be willing to send troops as part of a peace deal.

It comes after US President Donald Trump shocked Europe this week by phoning Russian President Vladimir Putin and declaring an immediate start to peace talks.

The French president has revealed he's spoken to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, primarily to discuss "the Near and Middle East."

But after discussing Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, the two turned to Ukraine, he wrote on X.

"Finally, I spoke with the Crown Prince about Russia’s war in Ukraine and the role Saudi Arabia could play in fostering a solid and lasting peace, with Europeans at the center of the process," Emmanuel Macron wrote.

For background: Trump's foreign advisers are traveling to Saudi Arabia for talks with the Russians on ending the war in Ukraine - talks which Ukraine and the EU have not been invited to.

France, in response, is hosting an emergency meeting for European leaders on Monday.

Who in the West is giving more to Ukraine? Europe has overtaken the US in Ukraine aid, research from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, external shows.

In total, Europe has allocated €70bn (£58bn) in financial and humanitarian aid as well as €62bn in military aid.

This compares to €50bn from the US in financial and humanitarian allocations and €64bn in military aid. A nine-month battle over spending in US Congress in mid-2023 stalled Ukraine aid.

When considering the aid as a share of donor GDP, Germany, the UK and the US have mobilised less than 0.2% of their annual GDP to support Ukraine. Other rich donor countries like France, Italy and Spain allocated roughly 0.1% of their annual GDP.

Kyiv tries to unpick American messagingpublished at 17:53 Greenwich Mean Time 16 February

17:53 GMT 16 February

James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent in Kyiv

For Kyiv, there has been a flurry of contradicting messages from its until-now biggest ally, the US.

After ruling out the presence of American troops after a ceasefire, the White House has since said “military leverage” could be used against Russia.

After calling on Europe to step up and provide security for Ukraine, Washington says the bloc will be excluded from any peace talks.

As American and Russian officials prepare to meet in Saudi Arabia, the US special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, insisted Kyiv would be involved.

Only now a senior government source has told the BBC that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky wasn’t invited and isn’t going.

Perhaps Kellogg meant “just not in Saudi”?

America has suggested it’s trying to get Russia to the table and doesn’t want too many parties involved at this stage.

US President Donald Trump also likes to go for the unpredictable approach when it comes to a negotiation.

As far as Ukraine is concerned, it’s been a chaotic start to a process that will shape its future.

We reported earlier that French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said his country's president, Emmanuel Macron, would hold a meeting of European leaders on Monday, but that the summit should not be "over-dramatised."

Now, CBS News, the BBC's partner in the US, has had a statement from Macron's office confirming the French president will hold an informal meeting in the afternoon on Ukraine and European security.

The heads of government of Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark will be there, the statement says, as well as the presidents of the European Council and European Commission, and the secretary general of the Nato military alliance.

It also said there may be future discussions in other formats on peace and security in Europe.

Lisa Lambert
BBC News

Image source, EPA

We've mainly been hearing from the Trump administration and fellow Republicans so far today on Ukraine.

But Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the foreign relations committee, has been speaking about the war on the US news programme Face the Nation.

Shaheen said it was vital for the US to hold Vladimir Putin and Russia accountable for the war.

When asked about what Congress could do to support Ukraine, Shaheen said lawmakers may soon make statements about a bipartisan law allowing the US to seize Russian assets and hand them over to Ukraine, saying these could be used for rebuilding as well as in the war.

She also said she wanted to see the US work closely with Europe to maintain sanctions on Russia and keep the Nato military alliance strongly united.

Shaheen said there could be benefits for US investments in Ukraine, but that she had not seen the critical minerals deal Trump has reportedly suggested to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, adding that Russia and oligarchs control some of those mines.

She also said China and others would be closely watching the war.

"It's also about our other adversaries and whether both our allies and our adversaries understand that we are going to stand up and support our allies and...that the United States is not going to walk away."

US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz was also among the senior figures who appeared on American morning news shows this Sunday.

Speaking to Fox News, Waltz rejected the notion that European allies and Ukraine are not being included in the latest efforts by the Trump administration to end the war in Ukraine.

"They may not like some of the sequencing that is going on in some of these negotiations," Waltz says, but adds: "I have to push back on any notion that they aren't being consulted. They absolutely are.

"At the end of the day though, this is going to be under President Trump's leadership that we get this war to end."

Waltz did not answer directly when asked why Ukraine is not included in talks scheduled to be held between Russian officials and American officials in Saudi Arabia.

Instead, he responded by saying that "the Ukrainian people have fought valiantly," and have been supported by the US and Europe in this effort.

More now from Marco Rubio, who has been speaking about the planned talks with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, which we're expecting in the next couple of days.

The US Secretary of State stresses that "one meeting is not going to solve" the war, and says a formal negotiating process has not been set up yet that will mediate between Ukraine, Russia and third parties.

"What we have right now is a call between President Putin and President Trump, in which both sides expressed an interest in ending this conflict," Rubio says.

"I imagine there will be follow up conversations to figure out what a process to talk about that would look like."

Image source, Getty Images

This morning has seen a flurry of appearances from Donald Trump's right-hand men on foreign policy on US television, all of whom have revealed new details about the planned talks with Russia.

The latest key figure we've been hearing from is US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was speaking to CBS News.

He confirms, as had been expected, that he will attend the Saudi Arabia talks with Russia, alongside Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz - two of Trump's closest foreign policy advisors.

Rubio will head there from Jerusalem, where he was holding talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today.

Asked about the Saudi Arabia meeting, Rubio gave few details about what he intended to say to Sergey Lavrov, his Russian counterpart.

However, he did gave an indication of how the administration views the meeting, saying "the next few days" will determine if Vladimir Putin is serious about peace.

Image source, PA Media

Former UK Prime Minister John Major has strongly criticised Donald Trump's decision to reach out to Russia for talks, calling the situation "fairly unprecedented".

Speaking to the BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend, he said: “Consider what happens if Russia can claim a win.

"China’s going to notice that and so will the world and so will every tin pot dictator around the world."

He claimed that Beijing will be emboldened over its position on Taiwan as a result of the White House's stance on Ukraine.

Sir John continued: “If America is not to stand behind its allies in the way the world has previously seen, then we are moving into a wholly different, and in my view, rather more dangerous world.”

You can listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds.

Image source, EPA

More now from the White House's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who has been speaking to Fox News.

He has just confirmed that he will travel to Saudi Arabia tonight, where the first face-to-face talks between the US and Russia on Ukraine are set to be held.

We had been expecting those talks to be formally announced but few official details had been confirmed until this morning.

Witkoff adds that US officials are also speaking separately with Ukrainian officials, saying that "Ukraine is part of the talks" - but gives no indication he expects officials from Kyiv to be in Saudi Arabia.

He says he would be having meetings "at the direction" of Trump and he hopes for "good progress".

Asked about Ukrainian involvement, he says the talks are not about excluding anybody, and then refuses to be drawn on the prospect of Kyiv having to surrender territory.

Those remarks come after the BBC was told by a Ukrainian government source that Ukraine had not been invited and would not attend the Saudi Arabia talks.

Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly said he will not accept a deal brokered between the US and Russia without Ukraine at the table.

White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has just confirmed he will travel to Saudi Arabia later today ahead of talks with Russian officials there.

Witkoff - who played a key role in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire negotiations - says National Security Advisor Mike Waltz will also attend.

As we've been reporting, Ukraine will not attend the negotiations.

We'll bring you more on this shortly.