Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that Ukrainian and U.S. officials will meet in Saudi Arabia next week to discuss peace plans.
In a social media post, Zelensky stated, "Next week, I have a planned meeting with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. After that, my team will remain in Saudi Arabia to work with our American partners."
He expressed hope that joint efforts with U.S. President Donald Trump would soon yield "constructive" results for both immediate and long-term peace.
Zelensky’s visit to Saudi Arabia was initially scheduled for last month but was postponed due to high-level discussions between U.S. and Russian officials in Riyadh on February 18. Kyiv was not invited to those talks.
Meanwhile, Trump’s envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, had earlier expressed optimism that relations between Ukraine and the U.S. would stabilize. Regarding discussions in Saudi Arabia on the "peace framework," he said he hoped that cooperation with Ukrainians would get back on track and that "everything" would restart.
The U.S. government recently suspended military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv following a tense public exchange between Trump and Zelensky at the White House last week.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov stated in Berlin on Thursday that Ukraine is now seeking alternatives for intelligence support.
"We have not yet received details on how [the intelligence sharing] will be restricted, but we have already started working on alternatives," Umerov said without providing further details.
At the same time, Trump stated that he believes both Ukraine and Russia want peace.
Speaking to reporters in his office, the U.S. president said, "Kyiv and Moscow want peace because they have no other choice."
When asked whether he planned to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump confirmed his intent to visit Saudi Arabia but declined to comment on a potential meeting with Putin.
Addressing French President Emmanuel Macron's recent remarks about providing nuclear protection to European allies, Trump reiterated his stance against nuclear escalation, stating, "We have made a lot of progress with Ukraine in the past two days, and we have made a lot of progress with Russia as well. It is best to resolve this situation, so we should not talk about nuclear threats in this manner."
Trump also reaffirmed his position on NATO, warning that if European allies do not increase their defense spending, he will not guarantee their protection.
Meanwhile, Russia has reacted strongly to Macron’s nuclear statement, calling it a direct nuclear threat against his country.
Lavrov warned that NATO’s growing military presence in Ukraine would mean the alliance's "direct, official, and open participation" in the war against Russia.
