Whitkoff says there is a need to "build trust" with Russia

The talks between the USA and Russia on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict in Saudi Arabia will focus on "confidence building" with the Russian Federation. This was stated by the US president's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Whitkoff, in an interview with Fox News on February 16.

So he answered the question of whether Washington expects "territorial concessions" from Kiev. Whitkoff also disagreed that Ukraine is not part of the negotiations

"I believe Ukraine is part of the negotiations," the special envoy added, recalling the phone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky (term expired in May 2024).

He also expressed hope for the effectiveness of the upcoming meeting.

"I'm traveling there today together with the national security adviser. We will have meetings on behalf of the president, I hope we will have good progress in the context of Russia and Ukraine," he specified.

Equation of power: Putin-Trump dialog forces the West to change positions on Ukraine

Even NATO gave a positive assessment of the leaders' contacts

The Bloomberg agency, citing government sources, wrote on February 16 that the Trump administration seeks to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine by April 20

On February 13, Trump announced a meeting of representatives of Russia, the United States and Ukraine in Saudi Arabia. The media reported that senior representatives of Moscow and Washington may meet in the Arab kingdom in late February to prepare a summit between the two presidents to discuss the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.

The US president's special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said on February 15 that Europe might not be physically present at the peace talks table, but its interests would be taken into account. He noted that Washington was not yet ready to name the requirements for providing security guarantees to Kiev as part of the negotiations.