Ukraine wary yet hopeful in pivotal talks with US in Saudi Arabia
There was hope when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was flying to Washington for a meeting with Donald Trump. However, Crimean political scientist Nedim Useinov, an expert from the think tank The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), says today's talks with the American delegation in Saudi Arabia are being received with more reservations.
On Tuesday, talks between representatives of Ukraine and the USA began in Saudi Arabia. This is the first meeting of officials from both countries since the argument between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the end of February in the White House. The Ukrainian president arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday evening but is not participating in the talks with the American delegation.
The Ukrainian delegation includes, among others, Andriy Yermak, head of the president's office, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.
On the other hand, the American delegation is led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who expressed optimism about the talks in Jeddah. "I feel optimistic about it. I mean, we wouldn't coming if we weren't," Rubio said.
Zelenskyy, on the other hand, posted on platform X and expressed hope for "practical results."
In a post on platform X, Zelenskyy emphasized that "Ukraine's position in these talks will be fully constructive."
"Expectations will be greater"
As Nedim Useinov points out, there should be less emotion and more pragmatism, which will allow Saudi Arabia to achieve concrete outcomes.
In Ukraine, there are expectations for a breakthrough—or at least some specific, small steps—so the parties can announce that some points have been agreed upon and that further talks are planned after the talks in Saudi Arabia, Useinov.
He adds that there was greater hope when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy flew to Washington to meet with Donald Trump.
- Tuesday's talks with the American delegation in Saudi Arabia are being received with more reservation. However, the expectations for the Ukrainian president will also be more significant, according to the political scientist from Crimea.
In his opinion, the Ukrainian delegation will first want to unblock American military aid, the transmission of intelligence data, and satellite imagery.
Zelenskyy instructed his government to officially find out Washington's position on these matters. The first reciprocal signals from the American administration have reached Kyiv. The White House suggested that during the talks, Ukraine must show goodwill, and Zelenskyy should be genuinely interested not just in sitting down at the table but, above all, in wanting to end the war, says Nedim Useinov.
According to political scientists, the Ukrainian delegation wants to dispel Washington's doubts and show that it wants to talk.
The interlocutor emphasizes that after the emotional charges from both sides, it's time to take practical actions and steps.
Before the talks in Saudi Arabia, Steve Witkoff, the White House's special envoy for the Middle East and a member of the American delegation, said the meeting would include, among other topics, an agreement with Ukraine on the exploitation of its resources, intelligence cooperation, security guarantees, and territorial issues.
The terms of the resource agreement will likely be discussed. But will both sides sign an agreement on this matter? I doubt it. It's too early to discuss territorial concessions. Kyiv will not agree to relinquish its territories "off the bat" before bringing Russia to the table. That's not how negotiations are conducted, believes Nedim Useinov.
