US, Ukraine officials to meet next week in Saudi Arabia to discuss peace plans: Zelensky
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that after his visit to Saudi Arabia, his team would remain there to work with US partners.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 6 he would travel to Saudi Arabia on March 10 for a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ahead of talks later in the week with US officials.
“Next week, on Monday, my visit to Saudi Arabia is planned to meet the crown prince,” Mr Zelensky wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “After that, my team will remain in Saudi Arabia to work with our American partners. Ukraine is most interested in peace.”
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Mr Steve Witkoff, said he was in discussions with Ukraine for a peace agreement framework to end the three-year war with Russia and a meeting was planned next week with the Ukrainians in Saudi Arabia.
“We’re now in discussions to coordinate a meeting with the Ukrainians,” Mr Witkoff told reporters at the White House.
He said it would likely be in Riyadh or Jeddah.
Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky had acrimonious talks at the White House
At his speech to a joint session of Congress on March 4, Mr Trump said he had received a letter from Mr Zelensky in which the Ukrainian leader said he was “ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible”.
Referring to the Saudi Arabia meeting, Mr Witkoff said: “I think the idea is to get down a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire as well.”
Meanwhile, Mr Trump said on March 6 he will likely make his first trip abroad to Saudi Arabia to seal an agreement for Riyadh to invest upwards of US$1 trillion (S$1.33 trillion) in the US economy, including purchases of military equipment.
Talking to reporters in the Oval Office, Mr Trump said he would probably travel there in the next 1½ months. He noted that the first overseas trip of his first term was to Riyadh in 2017 to announce Saudi investments estimated then to be worth US$350 billion.
“This time, they’ve gotten richer, we’ve all gotten older,” said Mr Trump. REUTERS
