US to assess Ukraine's peace stance in Saudi Arabia
10/3/2025 6:27
U.S. officials are
planning to use Tuesday's meeting with a Ukrainian delegation in
Saudi Arabia in part to determine whether Ukraine is willing to
make material concessions to Russia to end the war, according to
two U.S. officials.
The U.S. delegation will also be watching for signs that the
Ukrainians are serious about improving ties with the Trump
administration after a meeting between President Donald Trump
and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy devolved into an
argument last month, said one of the officials, who requested
anonymity to preview the closed-door talks.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will fly to Jeddah on
Sunday for the bilateral talks with Ukrainian officials, who
will be led by Andriy Yermak, a top Zelenskiy aide. Rubio is
expected to be joined by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz
and Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
"You can't say 'I want peace,' and, 'I refuse to compromise
on anything,'" one of the U.S. officials said of the upcoming
talks.
"We want to see if the Ukrainians are interested not just in
peace, but in a realistic peace," said the other official. "If
they are only interested in 2014 or 2022 borders, that tells you
something."
POSITION OF STRENGTH
Ukraine's European allies argue that Ukraine can only ink a
deal with Russia from a position of strength and that Kyiv
should not be rushed to the negotiating table with an aggressor.
Zelenskiy has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin
does not want peace, and that Russia will attack other European
countries if its invasion of Ukraine does not result in a clear
defeat.
U.S. officials met with Russian officials in the Saudi
capital of Riyadh in February for separate bilateral
discussions, which were focused largely on rebuilding a working
relationship after a near-total freeze on official contact under
former U.S. President Joe Biden.
Trump has expressed frustration with Ukraine in recent
weeks, saying the eastern European nation is running out of
manpower and resources, and that it needs to quickly come to the
table with Russia.
His administration has cut off weapons shipments and some
intelligence sharing with Kyiv in recent days, with his
administration accusing the Ukrainians of not being sufficiently
open to a potential peace process.
Critics say Trump's moves risk prolonging the war by
strengthening Russia's hand and thus making the country less
likely to lay down arms and strike an equitable peace deal.
Russian troops have been making slow but steady progress in
eastern Ukraine, while thousands of Ukrainian troops who stormed
into Russia's Kursk region last summer are nearly surrounded.
In a statement, National Security Council spokesperson Brian
Hughes said Zelenskiy had made progress in restoring the
U.S.-Ukraine relationship following his acrimonious meeting with
Trump on February 28.
He pointed to comments by Trump during his address to the
U.S. Congress earlier last week, when he said he had received a
conciliatory note from the Ukrainian leader.
"With meetings in Saudi Arabia this coming week, we look
forward to hearing more positive movement that will hopefully
and ultimately end this brutal war and bloodshed," Hughes said.
Witkoff, the Middle East envoy, said publicly earlier this
week that he hoped to discuss a "framework" for a potential
ceasefire and peace deal during the talks.
Hanging over Jeddah is the fate of a minerals deal between
the U.S. and Ukraine. Zelenskiy and Trump had been slated to
sign that accord - which would give the U.S. access to certain
mineral resources in Ukraine - during Zelenskiy's White House
visit. But after the blowup between the two men, it was not
signed.
Since then, both sides have expressed a renewed willingness
to sign the deal, but no signing has yet occurred.
The State Department and the Ukrainian embassy in Washington
did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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