Ukrainian and American officials will meet in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for their first high-level meeting since an Oval Office shouting match between their presidents last month. The goal of the meeting is to find a way to halt the bloodiest European war in generations. However, the three countries involved in the war – Ukraine, the United States, and Russia – appear to have different ideas about what a cease-fire should look like. Ukraine has proposed an immediate cessation of air and sea strikes but wants security guarantees before its infantry lays down its arms. The United States is pressing for an immediate, comprehensive cease-fire. Russia, on the other hand, wants concessions of its own before halting the war it started. If the Ukrainian proposal to halt the air and sea strikes is agreed to, it would bring about the first negotiated reduction in the fighting in three years of war. However, the Trump administration has made clear it is looking for more than just a cease-fire. Ukraine has offered an unconditional truce on long-range strikes as a confidence-building measure while continuing talks on a more comprehensive cease-fire. Ukraine favors a truce at sea and in the air and may ask the Americans if they have any insight into Moscow’s position on the Ukrainian proposal. The proposals that Ukraine is bringing to the meeting are its most detailed to date. In return, it is seeking one immediate action from the United States: a resumption of military aid and intelligence sharing that was suspended by Mr. Trump after the Oval Office debacle. The intelligence cutoff has already impaired soldiers in combat, particularly in the Kursk region of Russia, where Russian soldiers, aided by fighter from North Korea, have been rapidly advancing. In eastern Ukraine, however, a slow reversal for the Russians on the battlefield has come into sharper focus, with Ukrainian troops stalling a Russian offensive and winning back small patches of land. The picture is somewhat different in the eastern part of Ukraine, where a slow reversal for the Russians on the battlefield has come into sharper focus. Ukrainian troops have stalled a Russian offensive and won back small patches of land. Mr. Zelensky’s proposal last week, with support from President Emmanuel Macron of France, is its most detailed to date. In return, Ukraine is seeking one immediate action from the United States: a resumption of military aid and intelligence sharing that was suspended by Mr. Trump after the Oval Office debacle. The intelligence cutoff has already impaired soldiers in combat, particularly in the Kursk region of Russia, where Russian soldiers, aided by fighter from North Korea, have been rapidly advancing. However, Ukraine is not likely to bend on its insistence that there be an enforcement mechanism for any cease-fire. Russia has greater potential to rebuild its army over any pause in the fighting.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/world/europe/ukraine-us-saudi-cease-fire-talks.html