US and Ukrainian officials are planning to meet next week to discuss the first steps of a deal that could seek an end to the war in Ukraine, after a week of US moves casting doubt on its support for the country.
Both US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed the meeting, which is expected to take place in Saudi Arabia.
The planned meeting was announced just under a week after an Oval Office blowup between the two men in which Mr Trump attacked Mr Zelenskiy as ungrateful for US support and threatened to abandon Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion. Mr Trump later paused all military aid to Ukraine.
Since then, Mr Zelenskiy has expressed regret in general terms over how that meeting went, and both sides have showed willingness to sign a deal in which the United States would share in revenue from Ukraine’s mineral resources.
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“Ukrainian and American teams have resumed work, and we hope that next week we will have a meaningful meeting,” the Ukrainian leader said in a statement on Thursday.
He said that Ukraine would send a delegation to meet with “military representatives of countries that are ready to make greater efforts to reliably guarantee security within the framework of ending this war.”
He said the meeting was scheduled for Tuesday but did not specify who would attend.
Russian officials met top Trump officials in Saudi Arabia last month, as Russia has signaled an openness to talks, though it has not said if it would accept a ceasefire or an agreement to end the war.
There remains significant doubt among European leaders as to whether they can serve as the ultimate security backstop for Ukraine if America abandons the war-torn country.
The Trump administration suspended military assistance and intelligence sharing with Ukraine this week in a bid to pressure Ukraine to negotiate on its terms, although it has not outlined any specific peace plan.
Outside the White House on Thursday, Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration’s special envoy to the Middle East, told reporters that the negotiations would take place in Saudi Arabia.
“We are now in discussions to coordinate a meeting with the Ukrainians in Riyadh or even potentially Jeddah; the city is moving around a little bit,” Mr Witkoff said. “The idea is to get down a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire as well.”
Mr Witkoff said Mr Zelenskiy’s comments after the Oval Office showdown, praising the strength of Trump’s leadership, had helped Ukraine’s standing with America.
Last Friday, Mr Trump and his vice president, JD Vance, lectured the Ukrainian president for not showing enough gratitude to the US for its military support.
“He felt that Zelenskiy’s letter is a very positive first step,” Mr Witkoff said. “President Zelenskiy has demonstrated that he’s intent on that good-faith path back. He’s apologised. He’s said he’s grateful. He said he wants to work toward peace.”
Mr Witkoff added that he believed Mr Zelenskiy was willing to sign a minerals deal to create a US-controlled fund that would receive revenue from Ukraine’s natural resources.
Mr Zelenskiy said the Ukrainians would insist at next week’s meeting on a number of commitments from Russia to test whether a lasting peace could ultimately be reached. Those demands include Russian pledges not to attack Ukraine’s energy or other civilian infrastructure; a truce for missiles, bombs and long-range drones; and no military operations in the Black Sea.
“Ukrainians truly want peace, but not at the cost of giving up Ukraine,” he said. “The real question for any negotiations is whether Russia is capable of giving up the war.”
Moscow has given no public indication it would accept any truce, ceasefire or end to the war it launched three years ago. - This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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