Jeddah: Senior officials from Ukraine and the United States opened talks focused on ending Moscow’s three-year war against Kyiv, hours after Russia shot down over 300 Ukrainian drones. It was Ukraine’s biggest attack since the Kremlin ordered the full-scale invasion of its neighbour.
The talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah come after President Donald Trump paused US military aid to Ukraine last week, along with some intelligence sharing, in an attempt to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to engage in negotiations to end the war against Russia.
Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel later this week to Moscow, where he could meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a person familiar with the matter but not authorised to comment publicly. The person cautioned that scheduling could change.
Journalists were briefly allowed in a room where a senior Ukrainian delegation met with America’s top diplomat, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who smiled at the cameras and when asked about his expectations for the meeting, gave a thumbs-up and replied, “Good.”
Across the table, Ukrainian officials, including the country’s top diplomat and defence chief, showed no facial expressions as the meeting got underway at a luxury hotel. However, Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak told reporters that the most important thing was “how to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.” He said security guarantees were important to prevent Russia from invading again in the future.
It was the first meeting between the two sides since the Oval Office blowup between Trump and Zelenskyy last month.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister was also on hand as American, Saudi and Ukrainian flags could be seen in the background. Officials did not answer any of the journalists’ shouted questions.
The delegations met for about three hours in the morning before taking a break, and officials said the talks continued in the afternoon.
There was also no immediate comment from Ukrainian or US officials on the massive attack in which 343 drones targeted 10 Russian regions, leaving three people dead and 18 wounded, including three children, officials said.
Meanwhile, Russia launched 126 drones and a ballistic missile at Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said, as part of Moscow’s relentless pounding of civilian areas during the war.
