Ukraine-US talks begin in Saudi Arabia with high stakes
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Jeddah: High-stakes talks between Ukraine and the United States have begun in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as both sides seek a possible path toward ending the three-year war with Russia. The meeting, held at a luxury hotel in the Red Sea port city, saw US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his delegation sitting across from Ukrainian officials, with Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister also present. Journalists were briefly allowed into the room, capturing images of Rubio smiling for the cameras, while Ukrainian representatives sat without expression. No questions were answered.
The talks come amid escalating tensions, as Russian military officials reported shooting down 337 Ukrainian drones across 10 Russian regions overnight. The drone attack, reportedly the largest of the war so far, left two people dead and 18 injured, including three children. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that 126 drones were intercepted over the Kursk region, 91 over Moscow, and dozens more over Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Lipetsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Oryol, and Ryazan. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed that over 70 drones targeted the capital, causing minor damage to residential buildings and vehicles. Flights in and out of several major airports, including Domodedovo, Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky, were temporarily restricted, as was train traffic in the Domodedovo railway station.
The timing of the attack is significant, occurring just hours before the US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia, which are viewed as a renewed diplomatic push following tensions that emerged during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s February 28 visit to the White House. Ukrainian officials told The Associated Press that they plan to propose a ceasefire in the Black Sea to allow for safer shipping, halt long-range missile strikes on civilians, and negotiate the release of prisoners.
However, the Kremlin has made no public concessions, maintaining that hostilities could only end if Ukraine abandons its NATO ambitions and recognizes Russian-occupied territories. Russian forces continue to hold battlefield momentum, particularly in the eastern Donetsk region, where they have made steady advances along the 1,000-kilometer front line.
In addition to discussing the war, two senior Ukrainian officials confirmed that Kyiv is prepared to sign an agreement granting the United States access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals—a deal that US President Donald Trump is eager to secure. On his flight to Jeddah, Rubio emphasized that the US delegation was not presenting any specific peace proposals but instead aimed to understand Ukraine’s stance.
"I'm not going to set any conditions on what they have to or need to do," Rubio told reporters. "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."
While the rare earth minerals deal could be signed during the meeting, Rubio stressed that it was not a prerequisite for further US discussions with Ukraine or Russia. He noted that the agreement was still a broad memorandum of understanding, leaving many specifics to be finalized in future negotiations.
With PTI inputs