US-Ukraine talks start in Saudi Arabia

Ukrainian and U.S. officials began their talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to find a path towards ending the war with Russia, Reuters reports. 

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Monday en route to Jeddah that the talks with Kyiv would be important to gauge if Ukraine is willing to make concessions to reach peace.

"We have to understand the Ukrainian position and just have a general idea of what concessions they'd be willing to make, because you're not going to get a ceasefire and an end to this war unless both sides make concessions," Reuters quoted him as saying.

The top U.S. diplomat is being joined by U.S. national security adviser Mike Waltz for the talks. The Ukrainian side is led by Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy, who was in Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will not be joining the talks.

"A meeting of the Ukrainian and American delegations begins in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia," the Ukrainian foreign ministry wrote on Telegram, posting a video of senior Ukrainians officials entering a meeting room around 0900 GMT.

Ahead of the talks, Trump's special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff said he was hopeful the U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal would be signed soon.