Top Trump administration officials will meet with a Ukrainian delegation in Saudi Arabia today to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Washington and Kyiv are working to repair their relationship following last month’s Oval Office blowup between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky, who will not be in the meeting, said peace was a “shared goal” of the discussion.
US officials will be meeting separately with Russian officials later this week, a source said.
In the fallout since the White House meeting, Trump suspended US military aid and paused intelligence support for Ukraine as he tries to force Kyiv into negotiating a war deal with Russia without committing to providing security guarantees.
Who will be at the talks?
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Ukraine’s delegation is comprised of the Ukrainian national security adviser, the foreign minister and the defense minister.
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On the US side, the secretary of state, as well as Trump’s national security adviser were among those scheduled to meet with Ukrainian counterparts.
The US goal: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US wanted to get more details on Kyiv’s position and what possible concessions Ukraine might be willing to make in a deal, saying the US is in “listening mode.” Rubio said the mineral deal between the US and Ukraine continues to be worked on and that it won’t necessarily be agreed upon today.
On the ground:
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Fighting on the ground intensified in recent weeks as the US-Ukraine relationship soured.
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Russia said it downed hundreds of Ukrainian drones launched at its territory overnight, hours ahead of the war talks.
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If confirmed, the aerial attacks would represent one of the largest on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine.
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The US is still sharing intelligence with Ukraine that can help its troops defend themselves but has “scaled back” sharing details that could be used for offensive targeting of Russian forces, according to two US defense officials.
On the sidelines:
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Zelensky met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia on Monday, and said that a “significant part” of the talks focused on the security guarantees his country would seek in a potential peace settlement with Russia.
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Rubio said he is not sure if he will speak with Zelensky while they are both in Saudi Arabia, but did not rule out an informal engagement with the Ukrainian president.
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There is still no meeting planned between Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Rubio said.
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Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff is expected to be in Moscow later this week, a source told CNN. The source could not confirm whether Witkoff would meet with Putin, as the envoy did last month.