The U.S. delegation that is set to meet with its Ukrainian counterpart on March 11 will assess if Ukraine is ready for a "realistic peace," Reuters reported on March 10, citing unnamed officials.
Ukrainians and U.S. officials will meet in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to discuss the framework of a peace agreement with Russia and continue talks on a critical minerals deal.
The U.S. delegation will reportedly be looking for hints Ukraine is committed to improving ties with Washington following a heated argument between President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump on Feb. 28.
"We want to see if the Ukrainians are interested not just in peace, but in a realistic peace," an unnamed U.S. official said.
As part of their assessment, U.S. officials want to see whether or not Ukraine is ready to make concessions to Russia in order to end the war.
"You can't say 'I want peace,' and, 'I refuse to compromise on anything,'" an unnamed official said.
"If they are only interested in 2014 or 2022 borders, that tells you something," another official said.
Earlier on March 9, NBC News reported that the Trump administration did not plan to resume intelligence sharing and providing military aid until Zelensky indicated he was willing to make territorial concessions to Russia as part of a peace deal. The U.S. froze military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine in the days following the Oval Office clash.
Trump told reporters on March 9 that the U.S. was "just about" to lift the pause on intelligence sharing. He also said he was optimistic about the Saudi Arabia talks.
"We're going to make a lot of progress, I believe, this week," he said.
The delegation will be led by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
The officials previously met with Russian representatives in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18. The two sides discussed restoring bilateral relations and held preliminary peace talks without Ukraine's participation.
Natalia Yermak
