U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy landed a few hours apart Monday in Saudi Arabia, but did not meet.
In Saudi Arabia, a Ukrainian delegation is gearing up to meet with top American officials to discuss strategies for ending the 3-year war with Russia. The delegation plans to propose a ceasefire in the Black Sea region, address long-range missile strikes, and negotiate the release of prisoners. These details were shared by two senior Ukrainian officials who preferred to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the discussions.
Furthermore, the Ukrainian officials disclosed that the delegation is prepared to sign an agreement with the United States concerning access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, which is a priority for U.S. President Donald Trump. The specifics of the proposal will be discussed during the meeting scheduled to take place on Tuesday.
Prior to the meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jeddah, the officials highlighted the focus on confidence-building measures as part of the negotiation process. Although the details were not fully disclosed, these measures indicate the commitment of both parties to move towards a peaceful resolution.
Kyiv is trying to repair the damage done when Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Feb. 28 visit to Washington descended into an Oval Office argument with Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
At stake is the military aid and intelligence previously offered by the United States that had helped Ukraine in the war but is now paused as Washington pushes for a peace agreement.
Rubio and Zelenskyy landed a few hours apart Monday in Saudi Arabia, but did not meet.
Zelenskyy met with the kingdom’s powerful crown prince Monday evening, with the president saying they “had a detailed discussion on the steps and conditions needed to end the war and secure a reliable and lasting peace.”
“Saudi Arabia provides a crucial platform for diplomacy, and we appreciate this,” Zelenskyy said online.
Rubio also met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, thanking him for hosting the talks and also discussing Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who are threatening to restart their attacks in the Red Sea.
Speaking to reporters aboard his plane before arriving, Rubio said he and national security adviser Mike Waltz would take stock of Ukraine’s responses in Saudi Arabia.
If Ukraine and the U.S. reach an understanding acceptable to Trump, that could accelerate his administration’s push to peace talks.
“What we want to know is, are they interested entering some sort of peace conversation and general outlines of the kinds of things they could consider, recognizing that it has been a costly and bloody war for the Ukrainians. They have suffered greatly and their people have suffered greatly,” Rubio said. “And it’s hard in the aftermath of something like that to even talk about concessions, but that’s the only way this is going to end and prevent more suffering.”
He added: “I’m not going to set any conditions on what they have to or need to do. I think we want to listen to see how far they’re willing to go and then compare that to what the Russians want and see how far apart we truly are.”
Zelenskyy has said his team meeting Rubio will include his chief of staff Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. Rubio will lead the U.S. team.
The rest of Europe remains skeptical about the talks as it has been sidelined by Washington.
The European Union last week agreed to boost the continent’s defenses and to free up hundreds of billions of euros for security in response to the Trump administration’s shift in stance on Ukraine.
White House special envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News on Monday that the pause of U.S. intelligence-sharing with Ukraine has not limited defense intelligence-sharing.
“We never shut off intelligence for … anything defensive that the Ukrainians need,” Witkoff said.
A pause on sharing U.S. intelligence that can be used for offensive purposes by Ukrainian forces remains in effect, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The official suggested that progress could be made toward reinstating intelligence-sharing with Ukraine during the Saudi talks.
Arhirova reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.
