US and Ukraine to meet in Saudi Arabia after disastrous White House talks
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio with the media on his military aeroplane as he flew to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 10.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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JEDDAH - US and Ukrainian officials were to meet in Saudi Arabia on March 11 for talks aimed at mending ties and gauging if Ukraine is willing to make concessions under President Donald Trump’s push to end Russia’s war with Ukraine swiftly.
Washington, Ukraine’s main ally before Mr Trump’s inauguration in January
A stunning White House clash in February between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
That left in limbo a minerals deal that Mr Trump framed as key to continued US support and compensation for some US$65 billion (S$86 billion) in US military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded three years ago
Under intense US pressure, Mr Zelensky has been at pains to show that Kyiv is committed to ending the war, despite failing to win US security guarantees in the minerals accord that Kyiv sees as vital for any peace deal.
“We have to understand the Ukrainian position and just have a general idea of what concessions they’d be willing to make, because you’re not going to get a ceasefire and an end to this war unless both sides make concessions,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on March 10 en route to Jeddah.
The top US diplomat will be joined by US national security adviser Mike Waltz when he meets senior Ukrainian officials led by Mr Andriy Yermak, a top Zelensky aide. Mr Zelensky, who was in Saudi Arabia on March 10
Although Mr Rubio was more cautious, Mr Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, who has been drafted into Ukraine diplomacy
Mr Witkoff plans to visit Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin, a person briefed on the plans said on March 10, following a meeting with the Kremlin leader in Russia in February.
Ceding territory
Ukraine’s European allies argue that Ukraine can only negotiate a peace deal with Russia from a position of strength and Kyiv should not be rushed to the bargaining table with an aggressor.
Mr Zelensky has said that Mr Putin does not want peace, and has warned that Russia could attack other European countries if its invasion of Ukraine does not result in a clear defeat.
Mr Rubio declined on March 10 to specify concessions each side would have to make, but said Kyiv would have difficulty reclaiming all of its lost territory.
“The Russians can’t conquer all of Ukraine, and obviously it’ll be very difficult for Ukraine in any reasonable time period to sort of force the Russians back all the way to where they were in 2014,” he told reporters.
Russia holds around a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea which it annexed in 2014, and its troops are pressing on the eastern Donetsk region.
US and Russian officials met in the Saudi capital in February
