U.S. to assess Ukraine’s willingness for concessions as Zelenskiy urges continued support
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy travels to Saudi Arabia to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, ahead of talks between Ukrainian and U.S. officials on ending the war with Russia at an increasingly precarious moment for Kyiv.
The United States, once Ukraine’s main ally, has upended its wartime policies in its stated pursuit of a rapid end to the fighting, engaging directly with Moscow while cutting off military assistance and intelligence sharing for Kyiv.
Tuesday’s talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials—the first official meeting since a disastrous Oval Office encounter between Zelenskiy and U.S. President Donald Trump—are expected to focus on a bilateral minerals deal and how to end the war.
Under huge pressure from Trump, who wants the war ended at lightning speed, Zelenskiy has been at pains to show they are on the same page, despite failing to win promises of U.S. security guarantees that Kyiv sees as vital for any peace deal.
Zelenskiy has said he will not attend the talks with U.S. officials and that the Ukrainian delegation will include his chief of staff, his foreign and defence ministers, and a top military official in the presidential administration.
“On our side, we are fully committed to constructive dialogue, and we hope to discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and steps,” Zelenskiy said in a post on X.
“Realistic proposals are on the table. The key is to move quickly and effectively.”
On the other hand, U.S. officials are planning to use Tuesday’s meeting to determine whether Ukraine is willing to make material concessions to Russia to end the war, according to Reuters, citing 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 the White House meeting, said one of the officials, who requested anonymity to preview the closed-door talks.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio flew 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.”
Trump expressed optimism about the talks. “We’re going to make a lot of progress, I believe, this week,” he told reporters travelling with him on Air Force One.
Hanging over Jeddah is the fate of a minerals deal between the U.S. and Ukraine, which Kyiv wants to include a U.S. security guarantee in exchange for access to certain mineral resources in Ukraine.
On Sunday, Trump said he thought Ukraine would sign it, with a caveat that he wanted Zelenskiy’s government to show that it wanted peace.
“They will sign the minerals deal, but I want them to want peace… They haven’t shown it to extent they should,” he said.
