The Times: UK advises Zelenskyy's team ahead of US talks to avoid another conflict

The United Kingdom has provided Ukraine with advice on negotiating with the United States ahead of this week's meeting between Ukrainian and American delegations in Saudi Arabia. To this end, Jonathan Powell, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s national security adviser, visited Ukraine over the weekend.

The Times notes that the UK government is aiming to prevent a repeat of the catastrophic row between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump in the Oval Office.

The Times writes that Starmer is also working to convince Trump to restore intelligence sharing with Ukraine after its unexpected suspension last week.

The UK hopes to persuade Trump to reverse his decision on intelligence sharing, which is seen as a more urgent and achievable demand than the resumption of US military aid.

On Sunday, 9 March, Trump stated that his administration was "just about" done with the pause in intelligence sharing.

Over the weekend, Starmer spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte about the need to resume intelligence sharing with Kyiv.

Powell also pressed for this in a conversation with Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser.

The talks in Saudi Arabia follow Trump’s remark on Sunday that Ukraine might "not survive" even with US support.

Reuters reported that US officials plan to use the meeting in Saudi Arabia in part to assess whether Ukraine is willing to make significant concessions to Russia in exchange for ending the war.