Ukraine to Meet US Delegation in Riyadh Again Once Its Talks With Russia End

The US and Ukraine will hold another round of talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday, after US and Russian delegations conclude their meeting, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

The first round of US-Ukraine talks ended late at night, and within hours, the US delegation began a round of discussions with its Russian counterparts.

According to Suspilne, the second round of US-Ukraine negotiations is expected to take place as soon as the meeting with the Russians ends. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has already arrived for the talks, its sources said.

During the US-Russia meeting, officials are expected to discuss agreements reached with Ukraine ahead of a potential ceasefire. The topics include halting strikes on energy facilities and civilian infrastructure, as well as stopping attacks in the Black Sea, the source said.

The Ukrainian side hopes the US delegation can reach constructive interim agreements with Russia, though expectations for Russia’s position remain cautious, the source added.

Negotiations in Saudi Arabia between the US and Russian delegations began early on Monday morning. According to a correspondent in Riyadh, the meeting at the Ritz-Carlton hotel is closed to the press, and journalists have been asked to leave the venue.

The US delegation includes Michael Anton, director of policy planning under the secretary of state; aides to US Special Representative Keith Kellogg; and representatives from the National Security Council under adviser Michael Waltz.

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The Russian delegation includes Sen. Grigory Karasin and Sergey Beseda, an adviser to the director of the Federal Security Service.

The Ukrainian and US delegations met in Riyadh on Sunday after which Kyiv’s defense minister Rustem Umerov said that talks were “productive and focused.” Even so, President Volodymyr Zelensky still insisted that Moscow needed to end the war.

Umerov said discussions between his team and that of US envoy Steve Witkoff focused largely on energy issues. The future of the Russian-occupied nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest, has been prominently featured in US President Donald Trump’s remarks about the negotiations to bring Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine to an end.