Trump administration expects significant progress in talks with Ukraine in Saudi Arabia

Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy to the Middle East, has said that the United States expects significant progress in talks with Ukraine this week.

As reported by Reuters, US negotiators are due to meet with the Ukrainian side in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, 11 March.

"I think that we're going over there with an expectation that we're going to make substantial progress," Witkoff said.

When asked if he thought President Zelenskyy would return to the US to sign the minerals deal this week, Witkoff expressed hope.

"I am really hopeful. All the signs are very, very positive," he said.

Trump’s envoy said that security protocols for Ukrainians and territorial issues will be among the important issues on the table.

He noted that intelligence sharing will also be discussed at this week's meetings. However, he said, the US has never cut off intelligence for anything defensive that the Ukrainians needed.

Earlier, Reuters cited sources as saying that US officials plan to use Tuesday's meeting with the Ukrainian delegation in Saudi Arabia partly to find out whether Ukraine is ready to make material concessions to Russia to end the war.

In recent weeks, Trump has expressed frustration with Ukraine, saying it is running out of manpower and needs to get to the table with Russia quickly.

Trump’s administration has also cut off the supply of arms to Ukraine and intelligence sharing with Kyiv, accusing the Ukrainians of not being open enough to the peace process.

On Sunday, 9 March, Trump said that the United States had "just about" ended the pause in intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Jeddah on 9 March for bilateral talks with Ukrainian officials led by Andrii Yermak, Head of the Ukrainian President's Office. Rubio is expected to be joined by US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Steve Witkoff.