At the talks in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine will try to convince the US to resume intelligence and military support by persuading Donald Trump that Volodymyr Zelensky wants a swift end to the war with Russia, writes Financial Times, citing officials familiar with the preparations for the talks. Kyiv intends to propose to Russia a partial ceasefire that will include a ban on strikes using long-range UAVs and missiles, as well as combat operations in the Black Sea.
One Ukrainian official added that in the short term, Kyiv will prioritize establishing ties with the US, and two European officials stated that Ukraine considers progress in ceasefire negotiations as a condition for resuming military and intelligence assistance.
As FT writes, US pressure on Kyiv forced President Zelensky's administration to change its position after a dispute in the White House. "The tactic has changed. Now the most important thing is to normalize relations with the US, and if previously it was planned to first obtain security guarantees and then seek a ceasefire, it is now clear that this will not happen in that order," says political scientist Volodymyr Fesenko.
He also noted that Trump accuses Ukraine of not wanting a ceasefire, so the main goal is to show the US that Kyiv is ready to act as quickly as possible and start direct negotiations with Russia.
Earlier, the Reuters agency reported that the US is using the meeting with the Ukrainian delegation in Saudi Arabia to determine whether Kyiv is ready to make concessions to Russia. The agency, citing two American officials, writes that at the meeting, the US intends to determine whether Ukraine is ready for "significant concessions to Russia for the sake of ending the war," and whether Ukrainians are inclined to improve relations with President Donald Trump's administration. "We want to see if the Ukrainians are interested not just in peace, but in a realistic peace. If they are only interested in the borders of 2014 or 2022, that says something," said a source.
According to The Times, the UK is advising Ukraine on conducting negotiations. As the publication writes, over the weekend, British Prime Minister's national security advisor Jonathan Powell traveled to Ukraine to provide President Volodymyr Zelensky with instructions to avoid a repeat of the catastrophic dispute in the Oval Office with Donald Trump. "It is assumed that Powell advised Zelensky to make it clear that he is responding to American requests to emphasize to Trump that Russia is the main obstacle to peace," writes The Times.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is also trying to convince Trump to resume intelligence sharing with Ukraine after it was abruptly halted last week, hindering Kyiv's ability to protect its cities from Russian strikes. "Britain hopes that Trump can be persuaded to reverse his decision on intelligence sharing, which is considered more urgent and feasible than resuming military aid, which the US has also suspended," the publication reported.
The day before, US President Donald Trump stated that the US had almost resumed intelligence sharing with Ukraine, reported Reuters. He also said he expects good results from the upcoming talks between American and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia.
In response to a question about whether he is considering resuming information sharing, Trump said: "We almost did it."
The cessation of intelligence sharing with Kyiv, which sharply reduces its ability to defend against Russian missile strikes, followed the cessation of American military aid last week.
In the talks on March 11, Ukraine will be represented by Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and Deputy Head of the President's Office Pavlo Palisa under the leadership of the Head of the President's Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak.
The US will be represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump's National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and his envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.