White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt summarised the results of the talks between the US and Ukrainian delegations held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday. She noted that US leader Donald Trump put his Ukrainian counterpart on the spot, explaining him that Washington is serious about a long-term peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv.
Karoline Levitt commented on the talks:
“He [Trump] is the chief negotiator and he put Zelensky in his place and told him that the Americans are serious about a long-term peace deal.”
The Ukrainian side was represented by the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Andriy Yermak, his deputy Pavlo Palisa, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also arrived in Jeddah, but did not participate in the talks. On the US side, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the president’s national security adviser Mike Waltz were present.
Trump’s special Middle East envoy Steve Whitkoff, who participated in the February US-Russia talks in Riyadh, was absent from the Jeddah meeting. However, according to US media reports, Whitkoff is scheduled to visit Moscow on March 13 to meet with the Russian president. The Kremlin did not confirm this information, saying it would inform in due time about possible contacts with the US representative.
The US is pleased with the results of the talks
Levitt indicated that the US side was satisfied with the way the meeting in Jeddah went. She noted:
“We are very, very pleased with the way today’s deal with the Ukrainians turned out. And we hope that it will go on for a long time and forever.”
She also characterised the conversation between the delegations as productive.
Ukraine and the US have taken a “positive step” during talks on Tuesday, Rubio said, adding that the US will now “take this offer” to the Russians, noted that “the ball is in their (Russia’s) court.”
Russia on US-Ukraine talks
Commenting on the US-Ukraine talks, Russia said that the Russian side dominates on the battlefield, which is why any agreement on the conflict will be made on Russia’s terms rather than on the US terms, Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev said. In his opinion, everything that Kyiv is now broadcasting is not its terms, but what Washington dictates to it.
“For now, the most important thing is not to interfere with Russian-American negotiations with outside comments. Let the negotiators work,” the Russian senator summarised.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called Kyiv’s actions an attempt to “negotiate from a position of strength.” The head of the ministry, Sergey Lavrov, said Zelensky was seeking guarantees from the US that it would use its nuclear arsenal against Russia. Lavrov also said:
“Zelensky publicly states that he does not want a truce until the Americans give him guarantees that they will bomb Russia with nuclear weapons.”
What the EU says about the talks
The EU expressed approval over the agreement reached by Ukraine and the US, covering a ceasefire, humanitarian initiatives and the resumption of intelligence sharing, as well as security from the States. The EU also said it was ready to actively promote further action in co-operation with Ukraine, America and other partners, the union’s official website wrote.
French leader Emmanuel Macron welcomes the progress made in the talks between the States and Ukraine, which took place in Jeddah. The responsibility for further action now shifts to Russia, Macron wrote on his social media page X. He said France, together with its partners, continues to insist on achieving a sustainable and long-term peace, which will be backed by credible security guarantees for Ukraine.
Ukraine’s statements during the talks
The talks in Jeddah lasted almost all day and consisted of two rounds. The Ukrainian delegation proposed a “temporary truce” in the air and at sea, with ground fighting to continue. Yermak expressed confidence that “a ceasefire never seemed so close.”
In his column for a Western publication, he said that the recent talks gave hope for Ukraine’s return to peaceful life. However, Yermak emphasised that peace could not be achieved “by diplomatic gestures alone.” Kyiv insists on three key conditions: security guarantees from the US and Europe, a full ceasefire and increased sanctions pressure on Russia. Also, the Ukrainian side suggested using frozen Russian assets to finance the country’s reconstruction.
According to the sources, the Ukrainian side tried to get the US to expedite the provision of a new arms package, including air defence systems.
Reaching a consensus between Washington and Kyiv officials was a significant step in improving bilateral relations after the conflict between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office and the subsequent abrupt withdrawal of US support for Ukraine.
