Saudi Arabia welcomed on Friday the planned meeting between the United States and Ukraine, to be held in Jeddah next week, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Ministry underlined the Kingdom's “unrelenting efforts to achieve lasting peace and put an end to the Ukrainian crisis, which have been pursued over the past three years through the organization of several meetings on the subject.”
The US envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, announced on Thursday that he would meet a Ukrainian delegation next week in Saudi Arabia to discuss a ceasefire with Russia.
The encounter comes following a tense exchange at the White House between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last Friday.
During the meeting, Trump and Vice President JD Vance accused Zelensky of failing to show sufficient appreciation for the billions of dollars in US military aid since Russia’s 2022 invasion. Zelensky left without signing a mining agreement Trump had pushed regarding Ukraine’s mineral resources.
The Ukrainian delegation for the Jeddah meeting, aimed at mending strained relations with the Trump administration, will be headed by Zelensky's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, and will potentially include Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
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