President Volodymyr Zelenskiy landed in Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a day before talks between Ukrainian and US officials that Washington expects to deliver substantial progress towards ending the war with Russia.
Zelenskiy is expected later on Monday to meet the Saudi crown prince, whose country has played mediating roles since Russia’s 2022 invasion, including brokering prisoner exchanges and hosting last month’s talks between Moscow and Washington.
Tuesday’s talks between US and Ukrainian officials are the first official meeting since Zelenskiy’s abortive White House meeting, and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said he had high hopes going into the talks.
Zelenskiy has said he will not attend Tuesday’s talks with US officials and that the Ukrainian delegation will include his chief of staff, his foreign and defence ministers and a top military official in the presidential administration.
“On our side, we are fully committed to constructive dialogue, and we hope to discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and steps,” Zelenskiy said in a post on X.
“Realistic proposals are on the table. The key is to move quickly and effectively.”
“I think that we’re going over there with an expectation that we’re going to make substantial progress,” Witkoff said in an interview with Fox News.
Asked if he thought Zelenskiy would return to the US to sign a minerals deal this week, Witkoff said: “I am really hopeful. All the signs are very, very positive.”
Witkoff, who has been arranging the talks, has said the idea is to “get down a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire as well”.
Zelenskiy has called for a truce in the air and at sea, as well as a prisoner exchange, in what he says could be a test of Russia’s commitment to ending the war.
