DAILY MAIL ONLINE | Published March 7, 2025
March 7 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia welcomed on Friday the chance to host a meeting between the U.S. and Ukraine next week, its foreign ministry said, adding that the kingdom would continue to do its utmost to help end the Ukraine-Russia war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday he would travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday for a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman ahead of talks later in the week with U.S. officials.
A brief Saudi Foreign Ministry statement said the U.S.-Ukrainian talks would be held in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.
“The foreign ministry confirms the kingdom’s continued efforts to achieve lasting peace to end the Ukrainian crisis.”
U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, had also said he was in discussions with Ukraine for a deal framework to end the three-year war with Russia, and a meeting was planned next week with the Ukrainians in Saudi Arabia.
In February, Riyadh hosted a meeting between U.S. and Russian officials to discuss ways to halt the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two. Ukraine was not included in those talks, raising concern in Kyiv and among its European allies.
Zelenskiy met Trump at the White House on February 28 but the encounter descended into acrimony when they clashed in front of the world’s media over their approaches to peacemaking.
Days after the meeting, Trump paused military aid to Ukraine as well as intelligence-sharing with Kyiv.
Overnight on Friday, Russian forces damaged Ukrainian energy and gas infrastructure in their first major missile attack since Trump’s move, piling pressure on Kyiv to accept a swift end to the war sought by the U.S. president.
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SOURCE: www.dailymail.co.uk
RELATED: Ukraine, US to hold talks on Russia-Ukraine war in Saudi Arabia next week
US President Trump says Kyiv and Moscow have no choice but to secure a peace deal to end the war.
US President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in Washington, DC, February 28, 2025 [File: Brian Snyder/Reuters]
AL JAZEERA | Published March 7, 2025
United States and Ukrainian officials have indicated they will meet in Saudi Arabia next week to discuss a peace framework for ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
This follows Washington suspending military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv this week, days after US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy clashed at the White House.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed he will meet Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia next week to carve out a framework for a peace agreement.
“We are now in discussions to coordinate a meeting with the Ukrainians in Riyadh or even potentially Jeddah. So the city is moving around a little bit, but it will be Saudi Arabia,” Witkoff told reporters outside the White House on Thursday.
“I think the idea is to get down a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire as well.”
Zelenskyy also said he will travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday with a cadre of officials and plans to hold talks with US officials.
“I am scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia to meet with the Crown Prince. After that, my team will stay in Saudi Arabia to work with American partners,” Zelenskyy said in an evening address on Thursday. “Ukraine is most interested in peace.”
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the chance to host the US-Ukraine meeting, saying the talks would take place in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.
“The foreign ministry confirms the kingdom’s continued efforts to achieve lasting peace to end the Ukrainian crisis,” it said in a statement on Friday.
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