WASHINGTON, March 6. /TASS/. US and Ukrainian officials plan to meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss issues related to resolving the Ukraine conflict, US Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters at the White House.
According to him, Vladimir Zelensky earlier sent a letter to US President Donald Trump, expressing his readiness for peace talks. "I think the [US] president thought that it was a really good, positive first step," Witkoff noted.
"We're now in discussions to coordinate a meeting with the Ukrainians in Riyadh, or even potentially Jeddah," he went on to say. "I think the idea is to get down a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire as well," the US envoy added.
The Axios news website reported earlier, citing sources, that US and Ukrainian officials would "discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire" at a meeting in Saudi Arabia on March 12.
Bloomberg, in turn, said earlier that the Trump administration "wants to link the proposed US-Ukraine minerals deal to demands for Kiev to commit to a quick ceasefire with Russia."
On February 28, Zelensky arrived at the White House for a meeting with Trump. Their televised exchange, with reporters present, unraveled into a shouting match, with Trump scolding Zelensky for being disrespectful to the US, and Vice President JD Vance noting that Zelensky had not ever said a "thank you" for all the support provided to Kiev. A news conference scheduled to follow the meeting was canceled, and Trump posted a statement on the Truth Social media platform saying that Zelensky was disrespectful and not ready for peace.
Eventually, Washington suspended military aid to Kiev.
Ukraine stated on March 5 that Zelensky had not sent any letters to Trump. Zelensky’s spokesman Sergey Nikiforov said that Trump must have referred to a social media post when he was talking about a letter.