Saudis welcome chance to host US-Ukraine talks in Jeddah next week

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with US President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C. (Courtesy: Reuters photo)

Saudi Arabia welcomed on Friday the chance to host a meeting between the US and Ukraine next week, its foreign ministry said, adding that the kingdom would continue to do its utmost to help end the Ukraine-Russia war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday he would travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday for a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman ahead of talks later in the week with US officials.

A brief Saudi Foreign Ministry statement said the US-Ukrainian talks would be held in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.

"The foreign ministry confirms the kingdom's continued efforts to achieve lasting peace to end the Ukrainian crisis."

US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, had also said he was in discussions with Ukraine for a deal framework to end the three-year war with Russia, and a meeting was planned next week with the Ukrainians in Saudi Arabia.

In February, Riyadh hosted a meeting between US.and Russian officials to discuss ways to halt the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II. Ukraine was not included in those talks, raising concern in Kyiv and among its European allies.

Zelenskyy met Trump at the White House on February 28 but the encounter descended into acrimony when they clashed in front of the world's media over their approaches to peacemaking.

Days after the meeting, Trump paused military aid to Ukraine as well as intelligence-sharing with Kyiv.

Overnight on Friday, Russian forces damaged Ukrainian energy and gas infrastructure in their first major missile attack since Trump's move, piling pressure on Kyiv to accept a swift end to the war sought by the US President.