JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — In a significant diplomatic move, a Ukrainian delegation plans to engage in talks with the United States’ leading diplomat in Saudi Arabia to discuss potential resolutions to the ongoing conflict with Russia, which has persisted for three years. The discussions are set to cover a broad spectrum of issues, including a ceasefire over the Black Sea, long-range missile strikes, and the release of prisoners. According to senior Ukrainian officials, who preferred to remain unnamed due to the sensitive nature of the meeting scheduled for Tuesday, there is also an anticipated proposal involving a tentative agreement with the U.S. concerning Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.
These minerals are of considerable interest to U.S. President Donald Trump. The details of these confidence-building measures were revealed prior to the meeting of Kyiv’s negotiators with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jeddah. Ukraine’s initiative comes at a time when it’s looking to mend diplomatic relations following President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s tense visit to Washington on February 28, where disagreements arose with Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
The outcome of these talks is critical, as it might determine the resumption of U.S. military assistance and intelligence support to Ukraine, which has been on hold as the U.S. presses for a peaceful resolution. Rubio and Zelenskyy arrived separately in Saudi Arabia on the same day, although a direct meeting between the two was not on the agenda. Instead, Zelenskyy was scheduled to hold discussions with Saudi Arabia’s influential crown prince later in the evening, paralleled by Rubio’s meetings with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In a briefing to journalists during his flight, Rubio mentioned that he, along with national security adviser Mike Waltz, would evaluate Ukraine’s positions while in Saudi Arabia. Should Ukraine and the United States manage to reach a mutually acceptable accord, it could potentially propel the Trump administration toward more formal peace negotiations.
Rubio emphasized the importance of understanding Ukraine’s willingness to enter peace discussions, saying, “What we want to know is, are they interested in entering some sort of peace conversation and general outlines of the kinds of things they could consider, recognizing that it has been a costly and bloody war for the Ukrainians. They have suffered greatly and their people have suffered greatly. And it’s hard in the aftermath of something like that to even talk about concessions, but that’s the only way this is going to end and prevent more suffering.”
He further stated, “I’m not going to set any conditions on what they have to or need to do. I think we want to listen to see how far they’re willing to go and then compare that to what the Russians want and see how far apart we truly are.”
Zelenskyy has indicated that his team meeting with Rubio will consist of his chief of staff Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, while Rubio will represent the U.S. side of the negotiations. Meanwhile, European response to these discussions remains cautious, with the continent feeling sidelined by the U.S.’s solo diplomatic efforts.
Recently, the European Union agreed to bolster its defense expenditures and unlocked funds amounting to hundreds of billions of euros for security purposes, echoing the Trump administration’s revised approach to Ukraine. On another front, White House special envoy Steve Witkoff reassured on Monday that U.S. intelligence that is crucial for Ukraine’s defense is still being shared despite the current pause in other intelligence sharing.
“We never shut off intelligence for … anything defensive that the Ukrainians need,” Witkoff asserted. However, a U.S. source familiar with these talks, under conditions of anonymity, confirmed that intelligence with offensive application remains restricted, though there might be progress in renewing broader intelligence support during the discussions in Saudi Arabia.
