Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday for a visit with its powerful crown prince ahead of his team’s meeting with America’s top diplomat.
While Zelensky will not be there, his team will try to repair the damage done when his February 28 visit to Washington descended into an Oval Office argument with US President Donald Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance.
At stake is the military aid and intelligence previously offered by the United States that had helped Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Zelensky landed a few hours apart in Jeddah, a port city on the Red Sea where the Ukraine-US summit will take place on Tuesday.
Zelensky was expected to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after sunset, following the end of the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
It did not appear that Rubio and Zelensky would meet in person in Jeddah, though the secretary of state also was expected to meet Prince Mohammed.
Speaking to reporters aboard his plane, Rubio said he and national security adviser Mike Waltz would take stock of Ukraine’s responses.
