Kiev, 11 March 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Talks between top Ukrainian and US officials started in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday in an effort to stop Russia's war against Ukraine.

The Foreign Ministry in Kiev published a video on Telegram showing the Ukrainian delegation on its way to the negotiating rooms.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not present, though he was in the Gulf state on Monday to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Instead, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, and presidential office chief Andrii Yermak were seen in another video showing the Ukrainian side seated at the negotiating table.

Facing them on the US side were Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the National Security Advisor Michael Waltz.

The Ukrainians have supported an initiative by French President Emmanuel Macron in favour of a partial ceasefire on airstrikes and attacks from the sea, which Russia rejected last week. Kiev also wants an exchange of all prisoners with Russia as a first step.

Washington, on the other hand, wants a quick and comprehensive ceasefire followed by elections in Kiev. Rubio said on Monday that Ukraine would have to make territorial concessions as part any agreement.

Ukraine has been defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion for more than three years with Western support.

Following a fractious meeting at the Oval Office on February 28, in which US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance castigated Zelensky and called him ungrateful, Washington paused arms deliveries to Ukraine and access to key intelligence information.

Trump has been keen to get a minerals deal signed with Zelensky but the Ukrainian president has demanded security guarantees.

Photo: EPA