President Volodymyr Zelensky, from Ukraine, working to repair his tense relations with the United States and to obtain a favorable agreement to end the war of his country with Russia, was to meet on Monday with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Saudi Arabia.
The meeting between Mr. Zelensky and Prince Mohammed, the de facto Saudi leader, who sought to play a central role on the diplomatic scene of the world, had advanced on the talks planned on Tuesday between Ukrainian and American officials in the state of the Gulf rich in oil.
The Crown Prince, formerly avoided internationally due to accusations of human rights violations he denied, positioned his country as an intermediary in efforts to end the Ukraine Russian War. Last year, Saudi Arabia played a central role in a complex exchange of American prisoners-Russia, and President Trump suggested that this could be the site of a possible meeting between him and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
Last month, Mr. Zelensky postponed a trip to Saudi Arabia after organizing an extraordinary meeting of the American Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and his Russian counterpart, Sergey V. Lavrov, in which the two parties sought to reset their relationship and discussed the war in Ukraine, without Mr. Zelensky.
But Saturday, Mr. Zelensky said on social networks That he would visit Saudi Arabia, declaring that he was “determined to do everything to put an end to this war with a just and lasting peace”.
“Ukraine sought peace from the very first second of this war,” he wrote about the large-scale conflict, which began with the invasion of Russia three years ago. “Realist proposals are on the table. The key is to move quickly and effectively. »»
Mr. Zelensky added that he would not attend talks with US officials, but the Ukrainian delegation would include foreign ministers and the country’s defense, a senior military official and the chief of staff to the president.
Mr. Zelensky is subject to intense pressure from the Trump administration to accept a peace agreement, and he seemed to recalibrate his message recalibrate after Mr. Trump and Vice-President JD Vance assailed him with anger 10 days ago in the oval office on what they described as a lack of gratitude for us.
Trump has repeatedly said that Mr. Zelensky did not “have the cards” given the military force of Russia, and almost demanded that Ukraine accept the diplomatic terms set by the United States for a resolution of the war. However, there are signs that Ukraine’s position on the battlefield is improving: Ukrainian troops have stopped a Russian offensive in recent months and in certain places, he has won small plots of land.
Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration’s special envoy in the Middle East, said Mr. Zelensky’s defending posture after the White House collapsed Ukraine’s position with US officials. However, the United States has interrupted military support for Ukraine.
Mr. Zelensky wrote on Saturday that he was “fully attached to a constructive dialogue” and that he hoped to “discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and stages” during his visit to Saudi Arabia. Mr. Rubio will be in the Saudi seaside city of Djeddah for interviews with Ukrainian officials from Monday to Wednesday, according to the United States Department of State, and was to meet Prince Mohammed after his arrival on Monday evening.
Mr. Trump’s position on Russia and Ukraine has sometimes been difficult to identify. On Friday, he declared on social networks that he was Considering important sanctions On Russia to help force a peace agreement on Ukraine. He demanded that the two countries “arrive at the table at the moment, before it is too late”.
A few hours later, he Tell to journalists At the White House, he felt that talks with Russia went well and that he “found it more difficult, frankly, to face Ukraine”.
