Today's Edition
KYIV/RIYADH (Reuters)
Ukrainian and US officials are expected to meet in Saudi Arabia late on Sunday to discuss a possible partial ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, part of an escalating diplomatic push by US President Donald Trump to end three years of war.
The meeting, which precedes talks on Monday between the US and Russian delegations, also in Saudi Arabia, comes as US special envoy Steve Witkoff expressed optimism about the chances for ending Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two.
"I feel that (Russian President Vladimir Putin) wants peace," Witkoff told Fox News on Sunday.
"I think that you're going to see in Saudi Arabia on Monday some real progress, particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries. And from that, you'll naturally gravitate into a full-on shooting ceasefire."
White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said on Sunday the United States was talking through a range of confidence-building measures aimed at ending the war.
Putin agreed last week to Trump's proposal for Russia and Ukraine to stop attacks on each other's energy infrastructure for 30 days, but that narrowly defined ceasefire was soon cast into doubt, with both sides reporting continued strikes.
The Ukrainian delegation taking part in Sunday's talks will be led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, a fact that President Volodymyr Zelensky said meant Kyiv would be able to act in a "very quick and very substantive" way, without elaborating.
Heorhii Tykhyi, foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Friday the Ukrainian and American sides were due "to clarify the modalities, the nuances of possible different ceasefire regimes, how to monitor them, how to control them, in general, what is included in their scope".
