Senior US and Ukrainian officials have held marathon crunch talks in Saudi Arabia focused on ending the war with Russia, aiming to build confidence despite a personal crisis between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Although the two presidents were absent, Zelenskyy sent his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, while Trump dispatched his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the US national security adviser, Mike Waltz, to Jeddah. “We are ready to do everything to achieve peace,” Yermak told reporters as he arrived for the talks, held in an opulent room provided by the Gulf state. The two sides talked for about three hours in the morning before taking a break, with more meetings planned for the afternoon. During the talks, Yermak posted one line on social media: “Work in progress.” After nightfall, the two sides had not made any announcements on how long the negotiations would last. Zelenskyy, who was also in Jeddah to meet the crown prince but not in the room for the talks, had said Ukraine’s position would be “fully constructive”. It was expected that the Ukrainians would suggest to the Americans a one-month ceasefire in the air and at sea, if Russia agreed to the same, during which time further discussions could take place on a more lasting end to the fighting. The offer, which Zelenskyy has floated publicly before, was designed to show the Americans that Ukraine is bringing constructive proposals to the table. On his flight out, Rubio said Washington’s main aim was to see if Kyiv was “prepared to do difficult things, like the Russians are going to have to do difficult things, to end this conflict or at least pause it in some way, shape or form”. The stakes could not be higher for Ukraine, with the prospect of US military aid and intelligence sharing being restarted if the talks go well. Trump cut off that critical support after the heated Oval Office argument in which he and his vice-president, JD Vance, rowed with Zelenskyy in front of the world’s media. Members of the US administration have suggested repeatedly that Zelenskyy should hold elections or step down. Domestically, Zelenskyy’s flagging ratings were boosted by his dressing down in the White House, and most Ukrainians say they would not want elections while the war continues. However, while there is anger at Trump’s demands, there is a strong feeling that, given the difficult situation at the front and exhaustion after three years of war, the Ukrainian president should make every effort to mend relations with the White House. Since the debacle in Washington, Ukraine has sought to flatter Trump, to prevent a peace plan from being forced upon it. Writing in the Guardian before the talks started, Yermak complimented a “strong American leadership” but said “a peace must be found that is both just and sustainable”. Trump’s interest in Ukraine has initially focused on a money-making scheme in which Kyiv would hand over a proportion of the country’s mineral wealth to the US. It is not clear if that deal will be agreed in Jeddah. After the US president dropped support for Ukraine, European governments rallied behind the country, promising funds and military aid, but they have also put pressure on Zelenskyy to repair ties with the superpower. The Guardian understands that British and French officials were particularly key in advising Kyiv on how best to put their position to the Americans. Jonathan Powell, an adviser to the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, is in regular contact with Yermak and visited Kyiv over the weekend. Yermak said the visit was part of “joint work with partners to develop a plan for achieving a just and lasting peace” before the Saudi summit. The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, posted a social media update on Tuesday stressing the importance of the day’s US-Ukraine talks. “Dear Americans, dear Ukrainians, don’t waste this chance. The whole world is watching you in Jeddah today. Good luck!” he said. Russia has celebrated the loss of support from Ukraine’s largest, and previously steadfast, backer. While most European governments ended working ties with Vladimir Putin after the full-scale 2022 invasion, which they say is a war of aggression, Trump has been more willing to build a rapport with the Russian leader. Several media outlets, including Reuters and Axios, have reported that Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, planned to visit Moscow this week to meet Putin. Asked about those reports, the Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said contacts between Russia and the US were now quite intensive, the RIA news agency reported. It remains to be seen how ready Russia is for any peace deal, even in the current scenario in which the Trump team seems to be requiring more sacrifices from Kyiv than Moscow. On Tuesday, Putin’s spokesperson said the signals from Washington were causing many in Moscow to rejoice, but added there should not be premature celebration. “You always need to hope for the best but still be prepared for the worst, and we should always be ready to defend our interests,” Dmitry Peskov said at a conference, in comments reported by Russia’s Kommersant newspaper. “Many people are rushing to put on rose-tinted spectacles and are saying that the Americans will now stop providing weapons or have already done so, that Musk will turn all the communications systems off, and everything will work out for us. But it will work out for us anyway.” Peskov said Moscow expected the US would inform Russia about the talks with Ukraine, the Russian state news agency Tass reported. On the battlefield, Moscow has seized the moment to launch a recent offensive in the Kursk region of western Russia, where it is trying to eject the Ukrainian army. On Tuesday, Russia’s defence ministry said its troops had regained more than 100 sq km (38.6 sq miles) of territory and 12 settlements in Kursk, which was taken by Ukrainian forces seven months ago. Kyiv has said the Kursk operation was an attempt to gain a bargaining chip in future negotiations and to force Russia to shift forces from eastern Ukraine. In an attempt to put pressure on Moscow hours before the Jeddah peace talks, Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on Moscow since the start of the war.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/11/kyiv-ready-achieve-peace-crunch-us-ukraine-talks-russia