European leaders are trying to force their way to the negotiating table to end the war in Ukraine. 
Washington has announced that a team of senior US officials plans to meet in Saudi Arabia with counterparts from Moscow and Kiev.
U.S. President Donald Trump broke with the status quo this week when he announced he would soon meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to begin talks on ending the conflict. This has led US allies in Europe to fear that their interests will be put aside.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Whitkoff will head to Saudi Arabia for cease-fire talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators. 
It is unclear exactly when the meeting will take place.
Rubio has already begun his tour of the Middle East - he arrived in Israel a day ago.
The top U.S. diplomat held a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in which he "reaffirmed President Trump's commitment to finding an end to the conflict in Ukraine."
In Munich, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Europe must come up with "good proposals" to secure peace in Ukraine if it wants to participate in the US-led talks.
Rutte also confirmed that he would travel to Paris to attend a meeting of European leaders called by French President Emmanuel Macron.
A spokesman for Macron's office told AFP that "discussions" were under way about a "possible informal meeting".
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on Europe to "take a greater role in NATO" and work with the United States to "secure Ukraine's future".
As part of possible "security guarantees" for Ukraine, talks have begun in Europe about the possible deployment of peacekeepers. These discussions are in their infancy, and others argue that the focus should be on building Ukraine's own forces. | BGNES, AFP