Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday for a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before Ukrainian and US officials hold talks there later in the week to discuss ending the war in his country.
“Next week, on Monday, my visit to Saudi Arabia is planned to meet the Crown Prince,” Mr Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app on Thursday. “After that, my team will remain in Saudi Arabia to work with our American partners. Ukraine is most interested in peace.”
US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said he was in discussions with Ukraine for a peace agreement framework to end the three-year war with Russia and that a meeting with Ukrainian officials was planned next week in Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom last month hosted a meeting between top US and Russian officials with the aim of ending the Ukraine war and repairing ties between the two countries. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Mr Witkoff met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov in the Saudi capital. Ukraine was not part of these talks.
Last week, the White House became the stage for an unprecedented dispute between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy. Their meeting, expected to advance peace efforts, ended in a stalemate, with no progress made.
The planned signing of US-Ukraine agreement on rare earths was also derailed. In the aftermath, tensions escalated further as Mr Trump accused Mr Zelenskyy of lacking commitment to peace.
Washington responded by suspending all military and financial aid to Kyiv, along with cutting off US intelligence support in the wake of the row.
Mr Trump said on Thursday that he planned to visit Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks.
