Trump puts pressure on Zelensky ahead of Saudi Arabia talks

Defense &
National Security

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Heading into Jeddah talks, Trump puts pressure on Zelensky

President Trump is inflicting mounting pain on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of planned talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

The summit of top U.S. and Ukrainian envoys in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, this week follows Zelensky’s explosive visit to the White House on Feb. 28, when Trump and Vice President Vance called the war-time leader ungrateful and accused him of being unwilling to move toward a ceasefire.

In the 10 days since, Trump has suspended U.S. military aid to Ukraine, halted intelligence support for strikes on Russia and talked about potentially deporting tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees who fled from the war.

Zelensky has consistently signaled Ukraine’s willingness to sign a mineral rights deal with the U.S. However, Trump said this weekend that the economic deal alone would not be enough to revive U.S. support for Ukraine’s military.

It is not clear whether Trump’s pressure has moved Ukraine and Russia any closer on the terms of a potential deal, as Russia ramps up aerial attacks on weakened Ukrainian defenses.

“It’s pretty clear that the deal that Trump wants is unsustainable for Ukraine, so I don’t know how much he will be able to get out of there,” said Eugene Finkel, the author of “Intent to Destroy: Russia’s Two-Hundred-Year Quest to Dominate Ukraine.”

Finkel, a political science professor at Johns Hopkins University, said Ukraine this week would likely agree to the “concepts of a deal” on Ukraine’s rare earth extraction and perhaps commit in principle to holding future talks with Russia.

Zelensky is visiting Saudi Arabia, with plans to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday. Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s top deputy, is expected to lead the Ukrainian delegation in the talks with the U.S.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will join national security adviser Mike Waltz on the American side.

Read the full report at TheHill.com.

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