Today at 16:34
U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Washington has “almost” restored intelligence sharing with Ukraine. He also stated that he expects positive results from upcoming negotiations with Ukraine in Saudi Arabia.
Reuters reported this.
Speaking to journalists aboard Air Force One on March 9, Trump said that the U.S. is close to lifting the “pause” on intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
“We have almost done it,” Trump said in response to a question about whether he is considering unblocking intelligence transfers to Ukraine.
“The CIA Director, John Ratcliffe, stated that the U.S. had halted intelligence sharing with Ukraine as a means of pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to cooperate with Trump in conducting peace negotiations with Russia,” the report says.
Trump also expects positive outcomes from the negotiations between U.S. and Ukrainian delegations scheduled for March 11 in Saudi Arabia, particularly to determine whether Ukraine is willing to make material concessions to Russia in order to end the war.
“I believe we will make significant progress this week,” he stated.
A mineral extraction agreement that would grant the U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare earth resources will also be discussed.
“They will sign the mining agreement, but I want them to want peace… They have not demonstrated this to the extent they should,” Trump said.
On March 9, NBC News reported that Trump had privately indicated that signing a mining agreement between Washington and Kyiv would not be sufficient to fully restore U.S. aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
On March 8, Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine’s delegation for the March 11 negotiations with the U.S. in Saudi Arabia would include Andriy Yermak (Head of the President’s Office), Andriy Sybiha (Minister of Foreign Affairs), Rustem Umerov (Minister of Defense), and Pavlo Palisa (Deputy Head of the President’s Office).
In his evening address on March 9, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that he hopes the meeting between the U.S. and Ukrainian teams in Saudi Arabia will bring Ukraine closer to peace and ensure continued support from the United States.
Read also: Bolton: Trump’s Threats of Sanctions Against Russia Are “Empty”
