During the first round of talks, the delegations of Ukraine and the United States discussed the Ukrainian proposal to cease fire in the sky and at sea. This was reported by Suspilne, citing a source familiar with the meeting.
They also managed to discuss the minerals agreement. As of 16:40, the second round of talks was underway.
The talks started at 11 a.m. Kyiv time and are still ongoing. There was a break, and then the second round began.
Ukraine is represented by the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov. The US side is represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Initially, the media reported that the American delegation participating in the talks with the Ukrainians in Saudi Arabia would consist of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Volz, and Special Representative for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, who is close to Donald Trump and participated in a meeting with the Russians in February. However, Vitkoff is not present at the talks. According to Western media, he will instead travel to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin.
According to The Econimist, Ukraine will propose a ceasefire in the air and at sea at this meeting. If the US supports the proposal, the next step is up to Russia, which will either have to reject the US-approved plan or agree to stop attacking civilian targets from the air.
Rubio believes that the outcome of the current negotiations will determine the future of military support for Ukraine. As you know, the Americans stopped supplying it last week.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy's trip to Saudi Arabia was supposed to take place in February and was planned in advance. However, these days, Washington has arranged talks with a Russian delegation there, and Ukraine was the subject of the conversation. At the same time, representatives of Ukraine and its European partners were not invited. Zelenskyy criticised this approach and postponed his visit to Saudi Arabia until 10 March to avoid being in the same place at the same time as the Russians. He said that he did not want his partners to even suggest that he was negotiating with Russia behind their backs.
After that, relations between Ukraine and the US became increasingly strained. Negotiations on the minerals deal lasted several weeks, and the US set such unfavourable conditions that Ukraine could not agree to them. The Americans attributed to Ukraine a non-existent debt of $350 billion for the assistance they had provided earlier. Kyiv argued that this support was provided without any obligation to repay it, and that the total amount of aid was much less, over $100 billion. The United States also wanted Ukraine to return two dollars for every one.
Eventually, after several rounds of negotiations, the parties managed to reach a consensus. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the concepts of Ukrainian debt and 2:1 repayment had been removed from the document. But the document agreed upon is only a framework agreement on the establishment of a joint investment fund. After it, another, more specific agreement needs to be drafted, which will require ratification by the Verkhovna Rada. The document was supposed to be signed by Ukrainian officials and US representatives during Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to the White House in late February. But the trip ended in a scandal.
Ukraine had signalled its readiness to sign the agreement and continue negotiations with the United States, including on ending the war. Instead, Trump and his team accused Zelenskyy of disrespect and unpreparedness to conclude a peace agreement, and pressured him on the topic of elections. Nevertheless, contacts between Kyiv and Washington continued, and eventually a meeting was arranged in Saudi Arabia.