First Round of Ukraine-U.S. Jeddah Talks Focuses on Rare Earth Deal and Ceasefire Proposal

Ukrainian and U.S. delegations held their first round of negotiations in Jeddah, discussing a rare earth minerals agreement and a proposed ceasefire in the air and at sea, Suspilne reports, citing a source familiar with the meeting.

The initial round lasted about four hours, after which both sides began a second round of talks.

Earlier, Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, emphasized the importance of U.S. security guarantees but stressed that starting the negotiation process was the priority.

“Security guarantees are crucial because we want to ensure that such aggression never happens again. Right now, we believe the most important step is to initiate this process. We are very open and want to have a constructive, in-depth, friendly, and partnership-based dialogue with our American counterparts,” Yermak said.

On March 7, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi stated that the U.S. and Ukraine would discuss the framework for peace talks aimed at ending Russia’s war. He also noted that Kyiv hoped to finalize or even sign an agreement with Washington on rare earth metals and mineral resources during the meeting.

It was previously reported that Britain is advising Ukraine on handling peace talks with the United States as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepares ahead of negotiations with the U.S. in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, March 11.