Secretary of State Marco Rubio greets crew members as he boards a military airplane Sunday at Homestead Air Reserve Base en route to Saudi Arabia. (Saul Loeb/via REUTERS)
The Trump administration is hopeful that Ukraine is ready to engage on a peace deal but will not make any assurances on resuming military or intelligence support to Kyiv ahead of a high-stakes meeting of U.S. and Ukrainian officials set to begin Tuesday in Saudi Arabia.
“The fact that they're coming here at senior levels is a good indication to us that they want to sit down and they're ready to move forward,” a senior State Department official told reporters traveling on Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s plane.
Rubio is set to meet with senior Ukrainian officials for the first time since the Oval Office blow-up between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which resulted in the United States suspending military and intelligence support to Ukraine.
The decision stunned Ukrainian officials and alarmed U.S. allies in Europe who are desperately hoping the talks in the coastal city of Jeddah will restore U.S.-Ukrainian relations as a wave of Russian attacks continues to hit government and residential buildings across Ukraine.
U.S. officials say the resumption of military and intelligence support will depend on Ukrainian actions as Washington seeks to accelerate a ceasefire process between Moscow and Kyiv. Officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to relate sensitive diplomat discussions.
The Ukrainian delegation will be led by Zelensky’s top aide, Andriy Yermak, alongside Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and the deputy head of the Presidential Office, Pavlo Palisa. Zelensky will not attend the meeting but will be in Saudi Arabia to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh.
“These are separate events,” a Ukrainian official told The Washington Post.
In a video address late Sunday, Zelensky said, “We hope for results — both in bringing peace closer and in continuing support.”
Zelensky is under extraordinary pressure to placate the Trump administration and demonstrate support for the president’s diplomatic drive despite his unanswered push for a U.S. security guarantee that would deter Russia from reinvading Ukraine.
Trump has insisted that the United States be repaid for the more than $100 billion it has spent in its support for Kyiv since Russia invaded more than three years ago. To that end, Ukraine and the United States are negotiating a deal that would provide access to rare earth minerals in Ukraine. U.S. officials say that would offer a type of security guarantee for Ukraine because Americans involved in the mining business would be on the ground — an arrangement that many Ukrainian officials view as insufficient.
The Trump administration has ruled out allowing Ukraine into NATO, viewing that as placing new burdens on the United States and obviating a path to peace with Moscow.
The formal resumption of intelligence-sharing between the United States and Ukraine could be a potential result of this week’s meeting. On Sunday, when asked whether he would consider lifting the intelligence pause, Trump said: “We just about have. I mean, we really just about have, and we want to do anything we can to get Ukraine to be serious about getting something done.”
Among the types of intelligence that have been suspended is the provision of satellite imagery services used by Ukrainian artillery and drone units to assess quality targets and keep tabs on Russian positions and depots.
The United States also stopped the transfer of any of the $3.85 billion in remaining military equipment available for Ukraine and halted the delivery of weapons already in transit after having been approved by the Biden administration.