Ukraine’s KYIV At a time of great speculation over scheduled U.S.-Russia negotiations in the kingdom to resolve Moscow’s war on its neighbour, a Ukrainian minister said Sunday that a Ukrainian delegation has arrived in Saudi Arabia for meetings in preparation for a potential visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
It also comes as a senior U.S. diplomat said that he was travelling to Saudi Arabia with another negotiator that U.S. President Donald Trump had designated.
First deputy prime minister and Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko did not say if Zelenskyy’s potential visit was related to the previously announced U.S.-Russian negotiations. She stated in a Facebook post that while Kyiv “gets ready to sign important economic agreements with countries in the region,” the Ukrainian delegation’s main goal is to deepen economic connections.
No other information was immediately available, and Svyrydenko had no indication as to when Zelenskyy may visit Saudi Arabia or with whom he might meet.
Zelenskyy’s chief adviser, Andriy Yermak, stated earlier Sunday that direct meetings between Russian and Ukrainian officials were not likely to happen anytime soon. Yermak stated in a Telegram post that the Ukrainians have no intention of doing so “until we develop a plan” to put an end to the conflict and establish a “just peace.”
