U.S. and Ukrainian officials are set to meet in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in an effort to repair strained relations and assess Ukraine’s stance on potential concessions amid President Donald Trump’s push for a swift resolution to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Since Trump’s inauguration in January, Washington has shifted its approach to the conflict, prioritizing a rapid end to hostilities. The administration has engaged directly with Moscow, halted military aid to Kyiv, and paused intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, which has been fighting a full-scale Russian invasion since 2022.
Last month’s contentious White House meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy further strained relations, leaving uncertain a minerals deal that Trump framed as pivotal to continued U.S. support and as partial compensation for the $65 billion in military aid provided to Ukraine since the war began.
Under mounting U.S. pressure, Zelenskiy has sought to demonstrate Kyiv’s commitment to ending the war. However, Ukraine remains without U.S. security guarantees in the proposed minerals agreement, which it sees as crucial to any peace settlement.
“We need to understand Ukraine’s position and determine what concessions they might consider because a ceasefire and an end to the war require both sides to make compromises,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Monday while en route to Jeddah.
Rubio will be joined by U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz for talks with a Ukrainian delegation led by Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Zelenskiy. Zelenskiy, who was in Saudi Arabia on Monday for discussions with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is not expected to attend the negotiations.
While Rubio expressed caution, Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who has been drawn into Ukraine-related diplomacy, voiced optimism about finalizing the U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal. Witkoff is also planning a visit to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, following a previous meeting with the Kremlin leader last month.
Ukraine’s European allies maintain that Kyiv should negotiate from a position of strength and not be pressured into talks with an aggressor. Zelenskiy has repeatedly warned that Putin has no genuine interest in peace and that Russia could threaten other European nations if its invasion of Ukraine does not end in a clear defeat.
Rubio declined to specify potential concessions but acknowledged Ukraine faces challenges in reclaiming all its lost territory.
“The Russians cannot conquer all of Ukraine, but it will be very difficult for Ukraine to force Russia back to its 2014 borders in any reasonable timeframe,” Rubio said.
Russia currently controls about 20% of Ukraine, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, and continues to advance in the eastern Donetsk region.
U.S. and Russian officials previously met in Riyadh in February, marking a rare diplomatic engagement between the former Cold War rivals. Those discussions largely focused on reestablishing ties following a near-total diplomatic freeze during former U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration.
