Ukraine’s Zelenskyy arrives in Saudi Arabia for peace talks

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Saudi Arabia to visit the kingdom’s crown prince and prime minister ahead of meetings with United States diplomats focused on a bilateral minerals deal and ending Ukraine’s war with Russia.

Saudi state television reported Zelenskyy’s arrival in Jeddah, a port city on the Red Sea where the Ukraine-US summit will be held on Tuesday. He will meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, before Ukrainian officials – including Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov – sit down with the Americans on Tuesday.

“Ukraine has been seeking peace since the very first second of the war, and we have always said that the only reason that the war is continuing is because of Russia,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media ahead of his trip.

US Secretary of State Mark Rubio arrived in Jeddah shortly after Zelenskyy. The top US diplomat is leading a delegation that also includes Mike Waltz, US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser.Rubio has said it is important to clearly establish Ukraine’s intentions to reach a point where peace with Russia is possible.

He spoke to reporters en route to the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah for Tuesday’s meeting with Ukrainian officials. Rubio stressed that it was crucial to leave the meeting with a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared “to do difficult things” – just like the Russians.

Tensions have been high between Ukraine and the US since a February 28 Oval Office meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump descended into an argument, and led to the US suspending all military aid to Ukraine.

Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford said that in Ukraine, there is talk that Zelenskyy was planning to offer a partial ceasefire involving an end to hostilities in the sky and at sea.

“The president is hoping this kind of message will in some way ease this pressure that the US has been putting on Ukraine. We’re talking about the suspension of military aid, the suspension of full access to intelligence sharing and satellite imagery,” Stratford said.

“Some analysts, quite interestingly, are saying that if Zelenskyy plays it right, he could put the ball back in Russia’s court – really testing the Russians, who have so far been averse to any partial ceasefire,” he added.