Britain advises Ukraine ahead of negotiations with the USA in Saudi Arabia - Times
Kyiv • UNN
The advisor to the British Prime Minister visited Kyiv to prepare the Ukrainian delegation for negotiations with the USA. Britain is trying to convince Trump to restore intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
Britain is advising Ukraine on conducting peace negotiations with the United States, while President Zelensky is flying to Saudi Arabia, reports the British publication The Times, writes UNN.
Details
"Jonathan Powell, national security advisor to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, visited Ukraine over the weekend to brief Zelensky before his country's representatives participate in negotiations with the US on Tuesday, to avoid a repeat of the catastrophic row in the Oval Office with Donald Trump," the publication states.
The British Prime Minister is reportedly "also trying to persuade Trump to resume intelligence sharing with Ukraine after the sudden halt last week, which could hinder Kyiv's ability to defend its cities from Russian strikes."
"There is hope that Trump can be convinced to reverse his decision on intelligence sharing, which is seen as a more urgent and feasible request than the resumption of military aid, which the US has also suspended," the publication writes.
Over the weekend, Starmer reportedly spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who will travel to Washington this week, about the need to resume intelligence sharing with Kyiv. Powell also insisted on this with Mike Waltz, Trump's national security advisor, the publication indicates.
The President of Ukraine is set to fly to Saudi Arabia on Monday for a meeting with the country's leader Mohammed bin Salman ahead of negotiations between Ukrainian and American officials.
"Zelensky himself will not be at the negotiations, but his chief of staff Andriy Yermak will be part of the Ukrainian delegation. It is expected that the UK will not participate in the negotiations, and officials will only go to Saudi Arabia at Ukraine's request," the publication states.
"It is understood that Powell advises Zelensky to make it clear that he is responding to America's requests to emphasize to Trump that Russia is the main obstacle to peace," the publication writes.
"We continue our efforts to bring about a just peace and ensure reliable security guarantees," Zelensky wrote on social media. He described the talks with Powell as "very productive," saying he is "grateful for the support."
The US Secretary of State will fly to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on Monday for talks with his Ukrainian counterparts "to advance the President's goal of ending the Russian-Ukrainian war," his press secretary said, stepping away from the terminology of "invasion," which was preferred by the previous administration, the publication indicates.
The negotiations will take place after Trump's statements on Sunday in an interview with Fox Business, where the US President responded to comments from Polish President Andrzej Duda, who questioned Europe's ability to guarantee that Moscow would not win in the conflict. "Well, it may not survive in any case," Trump said about Ukraine. He added that this could be the case even with full support for Kyiv from Washington.
"We have some weaknesses with Russia," Trump added. "It takes two to tango. Look, this shouldn't have happened - that war, and it happened. So now we're stuck in this mess."
Meanwhile, the Chief of the Defence Staff of the United Kingdom, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, will meet with military leaders of Starmer's "coalition of the willing" on Tuesday in Paris, as Starmer tries to persuade more countries to join. Over the weekend, Australia stated that it would consider sending troops to peacekeeping forces in Ukraine if peace negotiations are successful. Canada, Turkey, and Norway also expressed a desire to participate.
Supplement
Initially, Zelensky was supposed to fly to Saudi Arabia in February as part of a Middle Eastern tour, but he canceled the trip when American and Russian officials met in Riyadh to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
