US wants to assess Ukraine’s willingness to make material concessions to Russia – Reuters
Pravda Ukraine
The United States has planned to use the meeting scheduled for 11 March with the Ukrainian delegation in Saudi Arabia to assess Kyiv’s readiness for possible material concessions to Russia in order to end the war.
Source: Reuters, citing two anonymous US officials
Details: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will arrive in Jeddah, where he will lead the American delegation in talks with Ukrainian officials. Andrii Yermak, Head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, will lead the negotiations on behalf of Ukraine. It is expected that Rubio will be joined by White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and US President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
Quote: “US officials are planning to use Tuesday’s meeting with a Ukrainian delegation in Saudi Arabia in part to determine whether Ukraine is willing to make material concessions to Russia to end the war.”
Details: The American side will also view the talks as an opportunity to assess Kyiv’s willingness to improve relations with Trump’s administration. This issue has become particularly relevant after the previous meeting between the presidents of the US and Ukraine ended in a spat last month.
“You can’t say ‘I want peace’, and, ‘I refuse to compromise on anything’,” one US official said, commenting on the upcoming talks.
Another official emphasised the importance of realistic expectations regarding a peaceful settlement. “We want to see if the Ukrainians are interested not just in peace, but in a realistic peace. If they are only interested in 2014 or 2022 borders, that tells you something.”
Background:
- In his evening address on 9 March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that he hopes for a positive outcome from the meeting between the Ukrainian and US teams in Saudi Arabia, both in terms of bringing peace closer and ensuring continued support from the United States.
- Zelenskyy previously stated that on Monday, 10 March he would travel to Saudi Arabia for a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, after which his team would remain in the country for talks with the American side.
- On 8 March, Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine would be represented by Andrii Yermak, Head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Defence Minister Rustem Umierov and Pavlo Palisa, Deputy Head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, at the talks with the US, scheduled for Tuesday, 11 March in Saudi Arabia.
- On 9 March, US President Donald Trump reportedly informed his aides that the minerals deal between Washington and Kyiv alone would not be sufficient to resume aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine as officials from both countries gear up for talks in Saudi Arabia this week.
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