Ukrainian Foreign Ministry official shares details of Kyiv-Washington talks in Jeddah
Pravda Ukraine
Heorhii Tykhyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has provided details on the more than eight-hour negotiations between Ukraine and the United States in the Saudi city of Jeddah. He noted that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had guided the Ukrainian delegation’s actions remotely.
Source: Heorhii Tykhyi on Facebook
Quote: “The negotiations in Jeddah were among the most interesting I’ve ever participated in. That is from the point of view of the art of diplomacy, strategic thinking, the pursuit of non-standard solutions, a competent balance of flexibility and firmness, and an ability to take tactical moves towards the ultimate goal. All of this was demonstrated yesterday by the Ukrainian delegation and, most importantly, by the Ukrainian president, who had remotely directed its actions.”
Details: Tykhyi added that one of the distinctive features of the negotiations was their length – over 8 hours. “I can only say one thing about the impression of such a prolonged duration: historians often underestimate the role of human exhaustion in making historical decisions. It is in these final hours of the endgame, when fatigue sets in, that breaking the deadlock and even making difficult compromises suddenly becomes possible,” he said.
Tykhyi named the “emotional and informational background of the meeting” as a separate important nuance, which “defined the boundaries of the space for compromise and influenced the negotiating positions”. He said, “the meeting took place under the gaze of hundreds of TV cameras from around the world and in a thick cloud of ‘sources familiar with the matter’.”
“That’s why it was so important for the media to be on the spot and work professionally with them,” Tykhyi said.
He noted the third aspect: the significance of the negotiators’ personal roles. “Both the diplomatic and military blocs were represented in the Ukrainian delegation, and everyone proved to be as professional, principled, and wise as possible,” Tykhyi wrote.
Quote from Tykhyi: “I remember how, at one of the most challenging moments, at the very end, [Foreign] Minister Andrii Sybiha looked at me in a half-turn and his expression read ‘well, well’, but also a calm ‘everything will be fine’. In the final stages of drafting a joint statement, which lasted several hours, the key role was played personally by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It was he who directed the delegation’s actions to the ironclad defence of a number of principled positions and wise flexibility in relation to others, which allowed us to reach the final positive result.”
Details: Tykhyi noted that on the plane, he received confirmation from Ukrainian diplomats that “all processes in Rzeszów have just been resumed.” [Tykhyi likely refers to Washington resuming military aid to Ukraine – ed.]
Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson noted that Ukraine had “completely seized the strategic diplomatic initiative and changed the course of the game” during the talks.
Previously:
- Following the talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 11 March, Ukraine said it is willing to implement a 30-day ceasefire, provided that Russia also adheres to it.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that the ceasefire will apply “not only with regard to missiles, drones and bombs, not only in the Black Sea but also along the entire front line”.
- Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Washington will submit a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine to Russia and said he hopes Russia will accept it.
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