The US and Ukrainian officials will meet in Saudi Arabia this week to discuss the timing and scope of an initial ceasefire with Russia. The United States intends to keep up the pressure on Kyiv. At the same time, President Donald Trumpʼs advisers are considering how to ease sanctions against Russia.
This is reported by Bloomberg, citing sources.
The planned talks in Jeddah will take place after intense pressure from the administration of President Donald Trump on his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, including the suspension of military aid and intelligence supplies.
"We want to do everything we can to force Ukraine to do something serious," Trump declared.
Instead, his advisers are already offering ideas on how they could ease sanctions imposed on Russia, including capping the prices of Russian oil sales. Trump previously wrote that he was seriously considering tightening sanctions against Russia over its continued attacks on Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is ready for a ceasefire if Russia agrees to stop airstrikes and naval operations, as well as exchange prisoners, which could be a confidence-building measure.
Moscow has said it is ready to discuss a temporary ceasefire with Ukraine, provided there is progress towards a final peace settlement. However, there has been no public talk of Putin compromising or of the US pushing him to do so.
What preceded
On March 5, the US stopped sharing all intelligence with Ukraine and also halted military aid that was en route. A Trump adviser said the US would resume deliveries when Ukraine and Russia set a date for peace talks.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that Ukraine is already working on alternatives. In particular, intelligence data can be provided by other allied countries.
Presumably, this issue will be discussed at a meeting of American-Ukrainian delegations in Saudi Arabia on March 11. The Americans will be represented by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the White House Special Representative for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and the US Presidentʼs National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. Ukraine will be represented by Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andriy Sybiha, Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov, and Deputy Head of the Office of the President Pavlo Palisa.
According to the Financial Times, Ukraine may agree to a partial ceasefire with Russia in order to resume intelligence sharing and US military assistance.
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