UPDATE - US, Ukrainian officials to meet in Saudi Arabia next week: Trump's adviser

ADDS REMARKS BY US PRESIDENT; BACKGROUND

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - An American delegation will head to Saudi Arabia next week to meet Ukrainians to discuss a potential peace deal, US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said Friday.

"Secretary (of State Marco) Rubio, myself and Ukrainian delegation will be meeting in Saudi Arabia next week to get these talks back on track, get the ceasefire in place, and drive peace home," Waltz told reporters in the Oval Office, along with President Donald Trump.

Waltz said Trump has been "crystal clear" to all sides that the fighting has to stop.

"We will engage in the shuttle diplomacy, and we will continue to use his leadership and what leverage we have to get both sides on the peace table. It's not going to be easy," he added.

Waltz also announced that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will be coming to the US next week.

On Feb. 12, Trump had a one-and-a-half-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, followed by a meeting with delegations from both countries in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, on Feb. 18 to discuss normalizing bilateral relations and ending the ongoing conflict.

- It's difficult dealing with Ukraine: Trump

Towards reaching a peace deal, Trump told reporters that it is difficult dealing with Ukraine.

"I think we're doing very well with Russia, but right now, they're bombing the hell out of Ukraine, and Ukraine, I'm finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine, and they don't have the cards," he said.

Trump said he finds that in terms of getting a final settlement, it may be "easier" dealing with Russia which "is surprising, because they have all the cards."

He reiterated that he wants to settle the war.

"As far as the question about security ... that's the easy part. The hard part is getting it settled," he said, when asked about security guarantees for Ukraine.

"I'd like to also see if we could stop making these massive payments from the United States. I mean, Biden gave away money like it was water. ...Europe did it in the form of a loan. They get their money back. We don't.

"So that's how we came up with the rare earth deal," Trump said.

On Feb. 28, a meeting between Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House was marked by tense discussions, which prevented a deal on rare earth minerals, which Trump had requested in exchange for US support for Ukraine during its war with Russia.

Since Feb. 24, 2022, Russia has launched a military offensive against neighboring Ukraine, demanding Kyiv abandon its aspirations to join Western military alliances, a condition Kyiv sees as interference in its sovereignty.