US, Ukrainian officials head to Saudi Arabia as talks loom on ending Russia’s war

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) - A Ukrainian delegation has arrived in Saudi Arabia for meetings in preparation for a possible visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a Ukrainian minister said Sunday, at a time of intense speculation over planned U.S.-Russia talks in the kingdom to end Moscow's war on its neighbor.

It also comes as a top U.S. envoy revealed that he and a fellow negotiator appointed by U.S. President Donald Trump were heading to Saudi Arabia.

Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who also serves as first deputy prime minister, didn’t clarify whether there is a link between Zelenskyy's possible trip and the previously announced U.S.-Russia talks. In a Facebook post, she said that the Ukrainian delegation's focus is on strengthening economic ties, as Kyiv "prepares to sign important economic agreements with countries in the region."

Svyrydenko didn't say anything about when Zelenskyy might go to Saudi Arabia and who he might meet with. No further details were immediately available.

Andriy Yermak, a top adviser to Zelenskyy, said earlier Sunday that there was no possibility of Ukrainian and Russian representatives meeting directly in the immediate future. In a Telegram post, Yermak said the Ukrainians weren’t planning to do so "until we develop a plan" to end the war and bring about a "just peace."

Mykhailo Podolyak, another Zelenskyy adviser, on Saturday denied that Ukraine will participate in any planned U.S.-Russia meetings in Saudi Arabia.

"There is nothing on the negotiating table that would be worth discussing," Podolyak said on Ukrainian television.

But Svyrydenko’s remarks came within hours of an announcement by Steve Witkoff, Trump's close ally and special envoy to the Middle East, that high-level meetings were imminent in Saudi Arabia to discuss a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine.

Speaking to Fox News Channel's "Sunday Morning Futures" program, Witkoff said that he and national security adviser Mike Waltz will be "having meetings at the direction of the president," and hope to make "some really good progress with regard to Russia-Ukraine."

Witkoff didn’t specify who they would be meeting and what they would discuss, but he said that he was leaving for Saudi Arabia on Sunday evening.

Following a lengthy phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, Trump noted that they "agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately" on ending the fighting. The president appointed Witkoff and Waltz to lead those talks, alongside U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

Earlier this week, Russian officials and state media took a triumphant tone after Trump jettisoned three years of U.S. policy and announced that he would likely meet soon with Putin to negotiate a peace deal in the almost three-year war in Ukraine.

Trump's announcement created a major diplomatic upheaval that could herald a watershed moment for Ukraine and Europe.

Zelenskyy said that he wouldn’t accept any negotiations about Ukraine that don’t include his country. European governments have also demanded a seat at the table.

Putin has been ostracized by the West since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022 In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader.

Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy, didn’t directly respond to the question about whether Ukraine would have to give up a "significant portion" of its territory as part of any negotiated settlement.

"Those are details, and I'm not dismissive of the details, they're important. But I think the beginning here is trust-building. It's getting everybody to understand that this war does not belong continuing, that it should end. That's what the president has directed us to do," he said.