Donald Trump will send senior officials to Saudi Arabia in the coming days to prepare for Ukraine peace talks with Vladimir Putin, it has been reported.
National security adviser Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, the president’s Middle East envoy, will head to Riyadh to start talks aimed at ending the war.
It comes as Keith Kellogg, Mr Trump’s envoy to Ukraine, accepted Russia would have to give back territory it had invaded if peace were to be achieved.
“To me there will have to be things like territorial concessions as well,” he said at a panel event in Munich. “There’s some territorial…renouncement of the use of force into the future. He’s not going to downsize his military force. What we’re going to try to do is force him into actions maybe he’s uncomfortable with.”
He added the US would also seek to break Putin’s alliances with North Korea, Iran and China.
Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelensky today urged Europe to raise its own army – warning the continent cannot rely on Donald Trump ’s United States for its defence.
“America might say no to Europe on issues that threaten it,” Ukraine’s President warned. “The old days are over.”
As news broke of Russia seizing more territory in easter Ukraine’s Donetsk region, the besieged country’s leader spoke at the Munich Security Conference, alongside Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey.
The besieged leader spoke at the Munich Security conference alongside the UK’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey – as Russia seized more territory in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
He said Europe would need to provide the bulk of any force to secure peace in Ukraine if a deal is done to end the war, because US support could not be guaranteed.
Mr Zelensky said: “As we fight this war and lay the groundwork for peace and security, we must build the armed forces of Europe so that Europe’s future depends only on Europeans, and decisions about Europe are made in Europe.”
He told the gathering in Germany: “Some in Europe may not fully understand what’s happening in Washington right now, but let’s focus on understanding ourselves right here in Europe, we must give strength to Europe first.
“Does America need Europe as a market? Yes. But as an ally? I don’t know.
“For the answer to be yes. Europe needs a single voice, not a dozen different ones.”
He said that “we can’t rule out the possibility that America might say no to Europe on issues that threaten it”.
He said “many leaders” had previously said that Europe “needs its own military, an army, an army of Europe”.
“I really, I really believe that time has come, the armed forces of Europe must be created,” he added.
President Trump’s surprise announcement of talks with Putin on Wednesday, to bring the war to an end dominated conversations during the conference.
And Washington has suggested Nato membership for Ukraine is off the table and Mr Zelensky will have to cede territory to Russia.
Mr Zelensky said: “A few days ago, President Trump told me about his conversation with Putin. Not once did he mention that America needs Europe at the table. That says a lot.
“The old days are over when America supported Europe just because it always had.”
He added: “Ukraine will never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement.”
But a source at the conference said the US delegation, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, were in “listening mode” and were “canvassing allies” about the way forward in resolving the conflict.
“They’re keeping all options on the table,” a source said – adding they appeared to be “walking back” blocking Nato membership for Ukraine in the talks.
Mr Healey said last night: “We heard very clearly the message Secretary Hegseth had about Europe stepping up, and we are – about doing more, and we will.”
And he said NATO too would “step up its support” for Ukraine to “help keep it in the fight.”
Mr Lammy said his meeting with Vice President JD Vance made clear that “the special relationship is real.”
“It’s three years,” Mr Lammy said at the close of the conference. “Thousands of soldiers have died. All of us want peace. The big question now is how to secure that peace.”
US envoy Keith Kellogg is expected to visit Ukraine next week, hoping to bring Mr Zelensky to the table at proposed talks.
Ahead of the US announcement, rumours circulated at the conference that Russian diplomats had already been dispatched to Saudi Arabia to prepare for the summit to be held in Riyadh.
UK officials believe Keir Starmer’s forthcoming meeting with Mr Trump could be key to determining the direction talks will take – despite the President dismissing the visit as being at “his [Mr Starmer’s] request, not mine”.
And sources at the conference said the UK’s ‘special relationship’ means it is in a better position to “steer the US where others can’t.”
Clear red lines for negotiations have yet to be drawn.
But it’s felt Nato membership for Ukraine should remain on the table, and the US should guarantee some level of support for European forces in maintaining any peaceful settlement.
G7 foreign ministers at the Munich summit agreed to continue pursuing a strong peace deal for Ukraine – with robust security guarantees.
And they linked future sanctions on Russia to the forthcoming negotiations.
“Any new, additional sanctions after February should be linked to whether the Russian Federation enters into real, good-faith efforts to bring an enduring end to the war against Ukraine that provides Ukraine with long-term security and stability as a sovereign, independent country,” the statement – which includes US Secretary of State Marco Rubio – said after a meeting on the sidelines of the conference.
Though only a small settlement, Russia’s capture of Berezivka would advance Putin’s sweep across the Donetsk region, which has cost Moscow heavily in troops and equipment but has paid dividends for the Kremlin.
Russia seeks to take control of all parts of Donetsk and neighbouring Luhansk, which together make up Ukraine’s Donbas industrial region.