Officials from Ukraine and the United States are set to meet in Saudi Arabia this week to negotiate an end to the war with Russia.
This will mark the first high-level meeting between the two countries since February 28, when a White House meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump – who was joined by Vice President JD Vance – descended into a public bust-up, playing out in front of television cameras.
Here is what to expect in Saudi Arabia:
What meetings are planned between the US and Ukraine?
Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, he wrote in an X post on Saturday.
In his post, he added that Ukrainian diplomatic and military leaders will stay in Saudi Arabia for a meeting on Tuesday with US representatives.
Ukraine’s team for the Tuesday meeting is expected to include Andriy Yermak, head of Zelenskyy’s office; Andrii Sybiha, the minister of foreign affairs; Rustem Umerov, the minister of defence; and Pavlo Palisa, a colonel in Zelenskyy’s office.
From the US side, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will attend the Tuesday meeting. He has already flown to Saudi Arabia, where he too will meet with the Crown Prince. Rubio is expected to be joined by Trump’s Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz for the Ukraine meeting on Tuesday.
Witkoff has already been involved in trying to broker deals with Russia and Ukraine. Last month, he represented the US during peace negotiations with Russian officials, and also visited Russia, securing the release of imprisoned American Marc Fogel, in exchange for the US releasing Russian Alexander Vinnik. Witkoff was the first high-level US official to travel to the country since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Trump and Zelenskyy: What has happened so far
The talks in Saudi Arabia come less than two weeks after Trump and Vance accused Zelenskyy of being a warmonger looking to avoid a ceasefire with Russia, and of being ungrateful to the US and Trump for supplying military and other assistance to Ukraine.
Those accusations, and Zelenskyy’s attempts to question the merits of unconditional diplomacy with Russian President Vladimir Putin, came amid a broader Trump-led shift in the US approach to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Last month, representatives from Washington and Moscow had talks in Saudi capital Riyadh, with Ukraine and European countries absent. After this, Trump and Zelenskyy traded barbs, making jibes against each other in speeches and on social media.
And soon after Zelenskyy’s acrimonious meeting in the Oval Office, the US suspended military and intelligence support to Ukraine.
Where will the US-Ukraine talks take place?
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Saudi Arabia said in a statement on Friday that the meetings will take place in Jeddah, a port city on the Red Sea. Jeddah has previously been a venue for diplomatic engagements.
“The kingdom has continued these efforts over the past three years by hosting many meetings on this matter,” the Foreign Ministry statement said.
Timothy Ash, an associate fellow in the Russia and Eurasia programme at Chatham House, told Al Jazeera that Saudi Arabia’s strong diplomatic ties with both Moscow and Kyiv placed it in a good position to host such a summit.
What will be discussed in the Saudi talks?
On March 4, Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X that Ukraine was ready for peace negotiations. He also summarised terms for a peace plan in this post, writing: “The first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky – ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure – and truce in the sea immediately, if Russia will do the same.”
A temporary truce of the kind suggested by Zelenskyy “in terms of long-range missile and air attacks might be part of a confidence-building exercise,” and will “probably [be] the centre of” the discussions in Jeddah, Ash said.
Ash added there might be general discussions to help the two parties better understand each other’s position. For Ukraine, this could mean explaining the importance of the continuous flow of weapons and intelligence.
On Sunday, Trump was asked if he has thought of ending the suspension on intelligence sharing. “We just about have. We just about have,” he responded. He said he expects good results from the US-Ukraine talks on Tuesday.
From the US perspective, Witkoff told reporters on Thursday that Washington was pushing for a “framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire as well”.
On Thursday, Trump told reporters: “I think what’s going to happen is Ukraine wants to make a deal because I don’t think they have a choice.” He added: “I also think that Russia wants to make a deal because in a certain different way – a different way that only I know, only I know – they have no choice either.”
A deal on critical minerals, which will allow the US to invest in Ukraine’s mineral resources, including rare earth minerals, might also be on the table on Tuesday. The two countries were expected to sign the deal during Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House, but the agreement was not inked.
Zelenskyy has since said “Ukraine is ready to sign it [the minerals agreement] in any time and in any convenient format. We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively.”
Trump, meanwhile, has sounded more circumspect about the prospects of a quick minerals deal in recent days.
On Sunday, he said: “They [Ukraine] will sign the minerals deal but I want them to want peace… They haven’t shown it to the extent they should.”
