A partial ceasefire and a critical minerals agreement were key topics in the initial round of discussions between the United States and Ukraine in Saudi Arabia, as reported by Ukraine's public broadcaster.
These talks come shortly after a tense White House meeting on February 28 between former President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In order to expedite peace negotiations and prevent further escalation of the war, the U.S. and Ukraine must find common ground, as a consensus could lead to a quicker resolution to the conflict that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives since 2022.
Without U.S. assistance, Ukraine may struggle to reach a peaceful resolution with Russia, potentially leading to continued casualties and worsening social and economic conditions for both Moscow and Kyiv.
During the first round of discussions in Jeddah, an anonymous source familiar with the meeting revealed that officials from Washington and Kyiv deliberated over Ukraine's proposal for a partial ceasefire in air and naval operations. This proposal was initially introduced by Zelensky in a March 4 post on X (formerly Twitter).
Additionally, the negotiations included talks on a U.S.-Ukraine rare earths agreement. This deal had previously been discussed during Zelensky and Trump’s contentious Washington meeting, which ended without an agreement. Zelensky had rejected the February proposal due to its lack of security guarantees for Ukraine.
While the second round of talks is reportedly in progress, no specific details have been disclosed regarding the topics under discussion.
On March 8, Zelensky posted on X that Ukraine’s delegation in Saudi Arabia would include himself, top aide Andriy Yermak, Minister of Foreign Affairs Andriy Sybiha, Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov, and Colonel Pavlo Palisa from Kyiv’s armed forces. Prior to the meeting, he emphasized Ukraine’s commitment to "constructive dialogue" and expressed hope for reaching necessary decisions.
Representing the U.S. in Jeddah are Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko told Newsweek on Monday that the primary goal of the talks is to strengthen U.S.-Ukraine relations. He expressed optimism about a possible breakthrough in intelligence-sharing between Washington and Kyiv but was less confident about the resumption of U.S. military aid.
Goncharenko’s remarks reference Trump’s decision to halt all U.S. military assistance and prevent allies from sharing U.S. intelligence with Ukraine following his heated Oval Office meeting with Zelensky.
According to the Financial Times, Ukrainian officials proposed a partial ceasefire with Russia focused on limiting long-range drone and missile strikes and combat in the Black Sea, contingent on Washington reversing its aid and intelligence-sharing restrictions.
On March 10, Rubio suggested that the U.S. might reconsider its stance on military aid and intelligence-sharing if the Saudi-hosted discussions proved successful.
Before the peace talks, both Zelensky and Rubio met separately with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Public Reactions
When asked by CNN about the progress of the talks, Waltz responded that they were "getting there."
Yermak posted on X about the discussions, writing "Work in progress" alongside American and Ukrainian flag emojis. In an earlier post, he noted that the meeting had begun "very constructively."
According to a transcript from the U.S. Department of State, Rubio stated before the meeting, "I'm not going to set any conditions on what [the Ukrainians] 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."
Following multiple rounds of U.S.-Russia peace discussions, Steve Witkoff, Trump's envoy to the Middle East, is scheduled to visit Moscow for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as reported by Reuters.
At this time, it remains unclear whether any progress has been made toward implementing a partial ceasefire or finalizing the critical minerals agreement.
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