Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting Saudi Arabia today. There he will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but another meeting is expected with greater impatience. Talks are planned in Riyadh between the Ukrainian delegation and US representatives, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio - the first high-level talks since the Oval Office scandal between President Trump, his deputy J.D. Vance and Zelensky.
Another attempt to sign a deal for Ukraine's minerals
The Ukrainian president had planned to visit Riyadh in February. However, he canceled his trip after it became clear that Ukraine was not invited at all to the meeting between the US and Russian delegations, which took place in the kingdom on February 18.
Now, according to BBC sources, Ukraine is ready to continue talks on a ceasefire, which the US is insisting on. The rare earth minerals deal between Kiev and Washington is also back on the agenda. It was supposed to be signed during Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Washington at the end of February, but after the scandal in the Oval Office, the Ukrainian president cut short his trip. The US subsequently froze military aid to Kiev and stopped providing intelligence information.
Mixed signals from Trump to Ukraine
In an interview with "Fox News" over the weekend, Trump gave mixed signals regarding American support for Ukraine. He said that with or without US help, it could still lose the war with Russia. At the same time, according to him, Washington has "almost" restored the transfer of intelligence information. Trump expects progress in the talks in Riyadh, but again did not spare his criticism of Ukraine: "They will sign the deal on the minerals, but I want them to want peace. They have not shown it to the extent that they should," he said.
In recent days, the American president has been the subject of criticism for his attacks on Ukraine and his concessions towards Russia and Vladimir Putin. Such criticism is heard even from the ranks of Republicans, who avoid publicly opposing the president. "For me, victory means that Vladimir Putin regrets his decision to attack Ukraine," Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick told CBS. "If we reward a dictator for invading sovereign, freedom-loving democracies, we send a message to all other dictators that if they do it, they will be rewarded."
Is there room for dialogue between Trump and Zelensky?
In an interview with "Fox News", Trump responded to the criticism by saying: "Nobody has been tougher on Russia than Donald Trump". And while on Friday he threatened Russia with more sanctions, he later wrote on his social network that he understood Putin, who "was doing what anyone would do in his situation." Trump also repeated his claims that Zelensky was not grateful enough for the help from the United States.
The meeting in Saudi Arabia will show whether there is still room for dialogue and compromise between Washington and Kiev.