What will the delegations of Ukraine and the USA discuss in Jeddah?

On March 11, negotiations will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, between representatives of Ukraine and the USA. This will be the first official meeting between Kyiv and Washington following the dispute between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. What will be discussed in these negotiations and what results do the participants expect?

On Monday, Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but he will not participate in the negotiations on Tuesday.

Zelensky emphasized that he hopes for the results of the meeting with the American delegation "both in terms of bringing peace closer and from the perspective of support from Washington."

The Ukrainian delegation includes Andrey Yermak, head of the president's office, his deputy Pavel Palisa, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

From the American side, the meeting will include delegates who met with Russian representatives in Riyadh in February – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Donald Trump's national security advisor Mike Walls, and special envoy to the Middle East Steve Uitkoff.

What will be discussed in the negotiations?

"We will have a constructive mood and we hope that it will be possible to discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and steps. Ukraine has been striving for peace from the very first second. There are absolutely vital proposals on the table. The main thing is to act quickly and effectively," Zelensky said last Saturday.

Steve Uitkoff mentioned last week that the foundations for resolving the conflict and a potential peace with Russia would be discussed in the negotiations in Saudi Arabia.

According to two American officials cited by Reuters, the USA plans to determine whether Kyiv is ready to concede to Russia to stop the war during the negotiations with the Ukrainian delegation in Saudi Arabia.

The US delegation also notes that after the dispute at the White House, "Ukrainians are showing serious signs of readiness to improve relations with the Trump administration," says one of the agency's sources.

"At the same time, you can't say 'I want peace' and 'I refuse to compromise,'" one American official told Reuters.

"We want to see whether Ukrainians are interested not just in peace, but in real peace," said another source. "If they are only interested in the borders of 2014 or 2022, that indicates something."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed in a conversation with journalists before flying to Jeddah that his delegation would try to understand how far Kyiv is willing to concede for peace.

He reiterated that both sides might have to make territorial concessions.

"I don't want to set any conditions about what they should or shouldn't do. We want to hear how far they are willing to go and compare that with what the Russians want, and then see how far apart we are," Rubio said.

He also commented on the prospects for a ceasefire in Ukraine, praising Ukraine's proposal for peace in the air and at sea. "I'm not saying this is enough, but such concessions need to be made to end the conflict," he said.

According to the head of the US State Department, the parties need to understand that there is no military solution to the conflict and it can only be resolved diplomatically.

^{On Monday, Zelensky arrived in Saudi Arabia. He did not plan to participate in the negotiations with the American delegation.}
Financial Times reported that Ukraine might propose a partial ceasefire with Russia in negotiations with the USA. According to sources, this involves prohibiting strikes with drones and long-range missiles, as well as refraining from military actions in the Black Sea.

AFP also quoted a Ukrainian official who stated that Kyiv would propose a ceasefire in the air and at sea during the negotiations, emphasizing that such a peace would be "easy to establish and control."

The publication writes that Ukraine hopes the negotiations will prompt Washington to reconsider its decision to halt intelligence sharing and arms supplies.

Marco Rubio also stated that the results of the meeting in Saudi Arabia would be crucial for restoring military aid to Ukraine.

"I think if we conclude the meeting with a good result and can report to the president, I think decisions will be made regarding the pause in assistance," CNN quotes the Secretary of State.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced his proposals for a phased peace process, which he said could be the first step towards long-term peace.

"The first phases could involve the release of prisoners, an immediate ceasefire in the air: prohibiting strikes with missiles, long-range drones, and bombarding energy and other civilian infrastructure, and if Russia does the same, an immediate ceasefire at sea," he said on March 4.

Additionally, according to media reports, the Ukrainian side may express its readiness to sign an agreement on mineral extraction. This document had been abandoned after the dispute at the White House.

Trump's special envoy Steve Uitkoff expressed hope that the agreement could be signed during the meetings taking place this week. Volodymyr Zelensky had previously also stated his readiness to sign the document.

According to Uitkoff, among the issues to be discussed in Saudi Arabia are "security protocols" for Ukrainians.

He also stated that the USA has not ceased to provide intelligence information necessary for "some defense purposes" to Ukrainians.

Donald Trump had stated a day earlier that the exchange of intelligence information between the USA and Kyiv had "almost been restored."

What are the Russians saying?

The Russian side, which has maintained air superiority and has been conducting extensive strikes with drones and missiles on Ukrainian territory, previously rejected the idea of a temporary ceasefire, stating that it is merely an attempt to buy time.

"We need real, stable peace, not some pauses, temporary breaks, or a ceasefire that the enemy wants to use to rearm. We need legally binding agreements and mechanisms," said Maria Zakharova, an official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, at the beginning of March.

Moscow officials have stated that negotiations between Russia and the USA are not planned for this week.

At the same time, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous informed sources, that Trump's special envoy Steve Uitkoff is set to visit Moscow within a week to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Earlier, CNN also reported that representatives of the Trump administration would hold meetings this week not only with Ukrainians but also with Russian officials.

Donald Trump has stated that "various negotiations" will take place in Saudi Arabia and expressed hope for a "big breakthrough" regarding the resolution of the Ukraine conflict based on their outcomes.

The first round of Russia-USA negotiations in Saudi Arabia took place on February 18. They included Sergey Lavrov, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, and Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) from the Russian side. The American delegation included Marco Rubio, Mike Walls, and Steve Uitkoff.

Zelensky had stated then that Ukraine would not accept any agreements without Kyiv's participation.

Analysis: There is a significant gap between a ceasefire and a peace agreement
BBC's security affairs correspondent Frank Gardner:

This week, much depends on the prospects of reaching a "circular" agreement on a ceasefire in the negotiations between high-ranking representatives of the USA and Ukraine.

This is the relatively easier part.

President Zelensky has recently been forced to retract his statement about how far away the end of the war is after angering Trump.

Instead, he is doing what he can, stating that he wants peace, as Ukraine is extremely dependent on Washington for military and intelligence support. He believes this is crucial in preventing Russia's next aggressive actions.

But then the complex part begins.

Russia and Ukraine remain very far apart on what they would agree to in a final peace agreement.

It is becoming clear that Moscow has not significantly softened its initial demands since the large-scale war began.

They still expect Kyiv to completely renounce all four regions partially occupied by Russia, including areas currently under Ukrainian control.

They still expect a permanent veto on Ukraine's accession to NATO or the European Union and want a compliant, pro-Russian government in Kyiv.

In other words, Moscow is expecting capitulation from Kyiv.