US – Russian talks on Ukraine

17/02/2025

US and Russian Officials To Hold Talks in Saudi Arabia Next Week

Top Trump administration officials are set to travel to Saudi Arabia next week to hold talks with Russian officials to discuss bringing the war in Ukraine to an end, multiple media outlets reported on Sunday.

The delegation is expected to include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East envoy.

Rubio spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in a phone call on Saturday, following up on President Trump’s recent call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“The Secretary re-affirmed President Trump’s commitment to finding an end to the conflict in Ukraine. In addition, they discussed the opportunity to potentially work together on a number of other bilateral issues,” the State Department said in a readout of the Rubio-Lavrov call.

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Ukraine rejects Trump bid to take rights to half its mineral reserves

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected a US bid to take ownership of around 50 per cent of the rights to his country’s rare earth minerals and is trying to negotiate a better deal, according to several people familiar with the matter.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered Zelenskyy the deal during a visit to Kyiv on Wednesday, which came after President Donald Trump suggested the US was owed half a trillion dollars’ worth of Ukraine’s resources in exchange for its assistance to the war-torn country.

Zelenskyy wants American and European security guarantees to be tied directly to any deal on the mineral reserves, according to four people familiar with the US-Ukraine negotiations.

Trump Adviser Gives Four Tenets of Deal to End War in Ukraine

by Kyle Anzalone
Feb 16, 2025

National Security Adviser Mike Waltz discussed some of the core issues for Donald Trump in the upcoming talks on ending the war in Ukraine. He did not confirm that Ukraine would be involved in the talks.

On Fox News Sunday, Waltz explained, “Number one, it has to be a permanent end to the war, not a temporary end to the war. Number two, this can’t be ended on the battlefield. This has turned into a World War I-style meat grinder of human beings.” He continued, “Number three, I talked about how the structure of our aid has to change. Then number four, we’re talking about economic integration going forward as the best arbiter of peace.”

The remarks follow Trump’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the war in Ukraine. After speaking with Putin, Trump contacted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said it was “not very pleasant” that the American President spoke with the Russian leader first.

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