Officials from the U.S. and Ukraine will meet next week in Saudi Arabia to discuss a “framework” for a ceasefire and longer-term peace agreement for the war between Russia and Ukraine, a top adviser to President Trump said Thursday.
The proposed meeting follows a period of sharp deterioration in the bilateral relationship after Mr. Trump moved to improve U.S. ties with Russia and he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a tense, televised confrontation in the Oval Office last week over U.S. efforts to broker a peace deal. A planned economic development and minerals deal with Kyiv was shelved and Mr. Trump ordered a “pause” on military and intelligence aid to Ukraine.
Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters at the White House that the Trump administration is “now in discussions to coordinate a meeting with the Ukrainians in Riyadh or even potentially Jeddah.. … The idea is to get down a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire as well,” he said.
European Union leaders, meeting in Brussels on Thursday, agreed to a series of budgetary rule changes that effectively could free up hundreds of billions of dollars in new security money for Ukraine, spurred in part by the American freeze on aid. The EU’s executive branch said the rule changes could free up over $860 billion in additional defense spending and loans to Kyiv to purchase military equipment.
Although it was unclear how fast the new defense money could be approved, the vote marked a sharp shift in European attitudes in response to the Trump administration’s sharp break with traditional U.S. security policy.
“Spend, spend, spend on defense and deterrence. That’s the most important message,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters.
U.S. and Russian top diplomats met last month in the Saudi capital to discuss improved ties, a meeting which excluded Ukraine. When asked if the mineral deal with Ukraine — which would give American private interests access to Ukraine’s substantial strategic mineral deposits — will be signed when they meet next week, Mr. Witkoff noted that Mr. Zelenskyy has offered to sign it and said, “we’ll see.”
Mr. Witkoff said it will be up to President Trump to decide if the flow of aid to Ukraine will start again, after Mr. Zelenskyy published a conciliatory letter praising Mr. Trump’s “strong leadership” and insisting Ukraine wanted a peace deal.
“None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer,” Mr. Zelenskyy wrote on X. “My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.”
He also described the mineral deal with the U.S. “as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively.
Mr. Witkoff praised the Zelenskyy letter as a “very positive first step. There was an apology, there was an acknowledgement that the United States has done so much for the country of Ukraine and a sense of gratitude.”
He said of the meeting, “I hope we get things back on track with the Ukrainians and everything resumes.”
Andriy Yermak, Mr. Zelenskyy’s top aide, said Wednesday that he had spoken with National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and that a meeting has been scheduled “to continue this important work.”
“We discussed the next steps towards a just and lasting peace,” he wrote in an X post. “We also exchanged views on security issues and the alignment of positions within the framework of bilateral relations between Ukraine and the United States.”
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said there was one area where his country was stepping up its support of Ukraine as the U.S. pulls back. France will continue its intelligence-sharing programs with Ukraine even after Mr. Trump announced his suspension.
“Our intelligence is sovereign,” Mr. Lecornu said. “We have intelligence that we allow Ukraine to benefit from.”
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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