JEDDAH : US and Ukrainian officials were to meet in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks aimed at mending ties and gauging if Ukraine is willing to make concessions under President Donald Trump’s push to end Russia’s war with Ukraine swiftly.Washington, Ukraine’s main ally before Trump’s inauguration in January, has upended its policy on the conflict to pursue a rapid end to the fighting. Trump has engaged directly with Moscow, stopped military assistance to Kyiv and paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine, which Russian troops invaded at scale in 2022.
A stunning White House clash last month between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy deeply soured relations.
That left in limbo a minerals deal that Trump framed as key to continued US support and compensation for some $65 billion in US military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded three years ago.
Under intense US pressure, Zelenskiy has been at pains to show that Kyiv is committed to ending the war, despite failing to win US security guarantees in the minerals accord that Kyiv sees as vital for any peace deal.
“We have to understand the Ukrainian position and just have a general idea of what concessions they’d be willing to make, because you’re not going to get a ceasefire and an end to this war unless both sides make concessions,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Monday en route to Jeddah.
The top US diplomat will be joined by US national security adviser Mike Waltz when they meet with senior Ukrainian officials led by Andriy Yermak, a top Zelenskiy aide. Zelenskiy, who was in Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will not be joining the talks.
