The US and Ukraine will give it another try, after the ‘missiles for minerals’ deal has faltered amid President Zelensky’s resistance to signing the deal, and the big diplomatic blow-up and spat of last Friday.
Top US and Ukrainian officials are expected to meet in Saudi Arabia next Wednesday to discuss a ceasefire effort with Russia, which will mark the first such high-level meeting since last Friday’s public spat involving Zelensky at the White House.
Not only were weapons shipments to Kiev suspended as of Monday, but US intelligence-sharing followed. Max Blumenthal of the Gray Zone has aptly commented, “Ukraine can not carry out long range attacks inside Russia without US satellite guidance and intel. This is what we meant when we said the US was waging a proxy war that tempted nuclear escalation.”
The upcoming Riyadh meeting will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well as national security advisor Mike Waltz. Andrii Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, is expected to lead the Ukrainian delegation.
Just prior to that, on Monday, President Zelensky will be in Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This is after an initially scheduled trip for last month was canceled.
Steve Witkoff, United States Special Envoy to the Middle East has described that President Trump received a letter of regret from Zelensky just prior to his Tuesday Congressional address.
Trump saw the letter “as a good first step — there was an apology and acknowledgment that the U.S. has done so much for Ukraine and a sense of gratitude,” Witkoff said. Other sources cast this more as a ‘tacit apology’.
Crucially, this marks the first time the word ‘apology’ was used, which perhaps explains why talks with Ukraine are back on (the White House said this was a requirement).
Still, the White House has confirmed it is “pausing and reviewing all aspects” of its relationship with Ukraine, with some officials such as Walz describing this as temporary, and which is likely to be turned back on soon.
Zelensky has also confirmed Thursday, “Ukrainian and American teams have resumed work, and we hope that next week we will have a meaningful meeting.” He said he will send a delegation to meet with “military representatives of countries that are ready to make greater efforts to reliably guarantee security within the framework of ending this war.”
Some top Ukraine officials are saying there was no apology…
Zelensky won’t apologize to Trump after their White House meeting, as “there’s nothing to apologize for,” says presidential advisor Podolyak. pic.twitter.com/Qq73utk3Xz
— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 7, 2025
Ironically the last time the US delegation was in Riyadh was for a ‘successful’ first engagement with the Russian side led by FM Lavrov. US and Russia followed this with an Istanbul meeting, amid preparations for Presidents Trump and Putin to meet.
Loading…
