Top Ukrainian and U.S. officials are on Tuesday set to sit down in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to get Russia’s war against Ukraine stopped.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would not be there, though he was in the Gulf state on Monday to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, Presidential Office Chief Andrii Yermak, and his deputy Pavlo Pallisa will represent Ukraine, Mr Zelensky said.

On the U.S. side, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who have been working on the Gaza-Israel negotiations, are expected to attend.

The Ukrainians recently supported an initiative by French President Emmanuel Macron in favour of a partial ceasefire on airstrikes and attacks from the sea, which Russia rejected last week.

Kyiv also wanted to exchange all prisoners with Russia as a first step.

On the other hand, Washington wanted a quick and comprehensive ceasefire followed by elections in Kyiv.

Ukraine had been defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion for more than three years with Western support.

Following a fractious meeting at the Oval Office on February 28, in which U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance castigated Mr Zelensky and called him ungrateful, Washington had paused arms deliveries to Ukraine and access to key intelligence information.

Mr Trump has been keen to sign a minerals deal with Mr Zelensky, but the Ukrainian president has demanded security guarantees. 

(dpa/NAN)