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Meeting in Saudi Arabia, Waltz confirms progress in US-Ukraine talks
2025-03-11 16:07:16 / BOTA
White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said today that the United States is making progress in talks it is holding with a senior Ukrainian delegation, which are being held in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Waltz made the comments to reporters during a brief break in talks. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is leading the US delegation, did not answer reporters' questions.
The meeting began at noon local time in the Red Sea city. The parties decided to take a break after more than 3 and a half hours of talks.
Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, part of the Ukrainian delegation, wrote in a post on the social network X; “in progress”.
Mr. Yermak also assessed that "the meeting started in a very constructive manner."
During the meeting, the Ukrainian delegation is expected to present a partial ceasefire plan with Russia.
The Ukrainian plan includes a halt to long-range missile attacks and a ceasefire covering the Black Sea.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not attending Tuesday's meeting. Ukraine is represented by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Commander Pavlo Palisa.
Before the meeting, President Zelensky wrote on "X" that Ukraine hopes for "practical results."
The Kremlin said the United States is trying to understand how ready Kiev is for talks that would end the war.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz lead the US delegation amid President Donald Trump's efforts to broker a quick end to the war that began in 2022.
Secretary Rubio said Monday that the United States hopes to find a solution to continue aid to Ukraine.
He said that Washington went to the meeting in order to understand what concessions Ukraine is willing to make.
"The Ukrainians are now getting all the intelligence. I hope we can resolve the issue of the temporary suspension of aid. What happens during the meeting is of key importance to this issue," Secretary Rubio told reporters aboard the plane en route to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“We won’t be discussing major issues during the meeting, but we will understand what concessions the Ukrainians are willing to make,” Mr. Rubio said. He added that there is no military solution to the war and that Russia and Ukraine must be able to “make tough decisions.”
On Monday, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Secretary Rubio in the Red Sea city of Jeddah where the US-Ukraine meeting is being held.
Prince Salman also met separately with President Zelensky in Riyadh before meeting with the US top diplomat.
Will the agreement on minerals be reached?
President Trump has said that continued military support for Kiev depends on a deal on Ukrainian rare earth minerals.
Dozens of minerals, including rare earths; nickel and lithium are considered critical to the U.S. economy and national defense. Ukraine has large deposits of uranium, lithium, and titanium.
However, Secretary Rubio clarified that reaching an agreement on Ukraine's minerals is not the main goal of the talks being held today (Tuesday).
"There are still some details that need to be clarified. We want to sign an agreement and that takes time," Mr. Rubio said.
"I wouldn't prejudge the outcome of the meeting on whether we have an agreement on minerals or not. That's an important issue, but it's not the main topic of the meeting," Secretary Rubio added.
He welcomed the constructive role of France and Britain in talks with Ukraine.
Secretary Rubio told VOA that a role for China in maintaining peace and rebuilding Ukraine has not been discussed.
This is Secretary Rubio's second visit to Saudi Arabia. He and other senior U.S. officials met with a Russian delegation in Riyadh on February 18.
He will travel to Canada on Wednesday to attend a meeting of foreign ministers from the world's seven most developed countries.
Some information for this article was obtained from the news agencies "Associated Press", "Agence France-Presse" and "Reuters".
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