US officials heading to Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Saudi Arabia

15 February 2025, 20:06 | Updated: 15 February 2025, 22:58

Russian President Vladimir Putin and United States President Donald Trump
Russian President Vladimir Putin and United States President Donald Trump. Picture: Alamy

By Alice Padgett

Two senior US officials are initiating peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

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According to NBC News, two sources familiar with the matter reported that special envoy Steve Witkoff, and national security adviser Mike Waltz are heading to Saudi for peace talks.

On Wednesday, President Trump said there was an agreement to begin negotiations, after speaking to both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Following his phone call with Putin, Trump posted on Truth Social: "We both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine."

Zelenskyy wrote on X that he has a "meaningful conversation" with Trump to discuss "opportunities to achieve peace".

He added that the main issue was to "not allow everything to go according to Putin's plan", after Trump said it was unlikely that Ukraine would claim all of its land back from Russia's occupation.

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On Saturday, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the Ukraine crisis was an "existential question" for Europe and supported Ukrainian membership in NATO after Zelensky called for an "army of Europe".

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, he reaffirmed the UK's commitment to increasing defence spending to support the Ukrainian war effort.

He said Ukrainian membership in NATO was "the cheapest and best mechanism to secure peace not just in Europe but across the Atlantic”.

He said: "There is a question for Europe. If we look at GDP combined, it's about 0.01% that we are spending on that fight for Ukraine. We know this is the front line, not just for Ukraine, but for Europe.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the briefing following his meeting with British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the briefing following his meeting with British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy. Picture: Getty

"We know too that even when we get to a negotiated peace, Putin will not go away. So this is an existential question for Europe.

"We meet that question alongside the United States. At an appropriate time, we will get into a debate about security guarantees."

The Foreign Secretary added: "There is an irreversible pathway for Ukraine towards Nato - that is the cheapest and it is the best mechanism secure to secure peace, not just in Europe, but across the Euro-Atlantic."