Ukraine is set for the first face-to-face talks with the US after the disastrous fallout within the White House between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump.
Delegations from both sides, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Zelesnkyy, are due to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Monday before the full talks begin on Tuesday.
Zelenskyy is expected to meet Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Riyadh on Monday before the full talks.
The talks are crucial for rebuilding ties with the US which cut off military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after the spat between Trump and Zelenskyy on February 28.
Despite some warmer words from Trump in recent days, the president has insisted the US will only engage with Ukraine if they are interested in ending the war as soon as possible.
On Sunday Trump said in an interview that Ukraine “may not survive” even if the US restarted supplying aid to Ukraine.
He also said the US was close to agreeing to restart intelligence sharing with Ukraine, a crucial lifeline that helped Kyiv plan for Russian troop movements and provided some warning for incoming drone strikes.
In a post on X on Saturday, Zelenskyy said: “On our side, we are fully committed to constructive dialogue, and we hope to discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and steps.
“Ukraine has been seeking peace from the very first second of this war. Realistic proposals are on the table. The key is to move quickly and effectively.”
The talks in Saudi Arabia come after the US engaged in its first face-to-face discussion with Russia since the outbreak of war as the Trump administration upended the policy of the previous Biden government.
Ukraine is fully aware of the seriousness of the talks, with Zelenskyy bringing most of his top team with him to Saudi Arabia.
He said on Friday his chief of staff Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov would be joining him.
Saudi Arabia has positioned itself as a possible place where any final peace talks to end the war could take place.
Zelenskyy was hosted by the nation at the Arab League summit, while Riyadh maintains close ties to Russia.
It, and the neighbouring UAE, have also played pivotal roles in arranging prisoner exchanges between the two warring sides, and many migrants from both nations have moved to the region to avoid the conflict.
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