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White House lists Saudi talks with Ukraine, Russia in Trump's first 50 days achievements

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White House lists Saudi talks with Ukraine, Russia in Trump's first 50 days achievements
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a rally at the Dayton International Airport in Vandalia, Ohio, on March 16, 2024. (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

The White House has listed the negotiations in Saudi Arabia with Ukraine and Russia as one of U.S. President Donald Trump's key achievements on his 50th day in office on March 10.

"President Trump has brought Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table through historic peace talks in Saudi Arabia in pursuit of peace," the statement reads.

U.S. officials met with Russian representatives in Riyadh on Feb. 18 and in Istanbul on Feb. 27 to discuss restoring bilateral relations and preliminary peace talks, excluding Ukraine. These discussions were followed by a Ukraine-U.S. meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 11.

Trump's overtures to Russia have raised concerns in Kyiv and Europe that the U.S. is sidelining its allies in pursuit of a swift settlement. Tensions between Kyiv and Washington have only escalated after Trump's heated exchange with President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Feb. 28.

Trump subsequently froze all U.S. military aid and restricted intelligence sharing with Ukraine, aiming to pressure Kyiv into peace talks.

Meeting U.S. delegates in Saudi Arabia, Ukrainian officials are expected to push for the resumption of U.S. support while proposing a ceasefire in the air and at sea as a first step toward a broader peace agreement.

Trump said earlier that he is considering imposing sweeping banking sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a ceasefire and peace deal are reached.

The U.S. president claimed his position is based on the fact that Russia is "absolutely pounding" Ukraine, likely referring to Russian advances in Kursk Oblast or the large-scale missile and drone attack on March 7.

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Tim Zadorozhnyy

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Tim Zadorozhnyy is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent covering foreign policy, U.S.-Ukraine relations, and political developments across Europe and Russia. He studied International Relations and European Studies at Lazarski University and Coventry University. Tim began his journalism career in Odesa in 2022 as a reporter for a local television channel. He later spent a year and a half at the Belarusian independent media outlet NEXTA, first as a news anchor and later as a managing editor. He is fluent in English, Ukrainian, and Russian.

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