Ukraine will have to give up land to Russia in exchange for peace, Marco Rubio tells Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Jeddah on Monday ahead of high-level discussions where Ukraine is expected to propose a sea and air truce.

Due to diplomatic protocol, Zelensky will not participate directly in the talks, which follow a tense Oval Office meeting with JD Vance and Donald Trump last month.

Instead, his chief of staff and defence and foreign ministers will meet the Trump team led by Rubio.

Steve Witkoff, a businessman turned crisis envoy who recently attended Gaza peace talks, will also join the US delegation.

Travelling to Jeddah, Rubio expressed support for Ukraine's truce proposal, which was reportedly developed with input from Jonathan Powell, the British national security adviser.

"I'm not saying that alone is enough but it's the kind of concession you would need to see in order to end the conflict," Rubio told reporters aboard his plane.

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He added he hoped an agreement would restore US military aid and intelligence sharing that Trump had suspended.

Rubio stressed that both sides need to understand "there's no military solution to this situation".

"The Russians can't conquer all of Ukraine and obviously it'll be very difficult for Ukraine in any reasonable time period to sort of force the Russians back all the way to where they were in 2014," he said.

He emphasised it was important to "establish clearly Ukraine's intentions" and verify that Ukraine "is prepared to do difficult things, like the Russians will".

No Russian officials will be present at this week's talks in Jeddah. Moscow has agreed only to speak bilaterally to the US about the conflict.

President Trump has neither publicly asked for nor received any concessions from President Putin, with whom he has spoken several times since announcing negotiations had begun.

There are hopes that Zelensky's presence in Jeddah indicates he is ready to sign an agreement for the exploitation of Ukraine's minerals as collateral for past US military aid.

Zelensky's earlier refusal to sign this agreement angered Trump, who has promoted the deal as evidence that American assistance is not being given free of charge.

Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Trump by phone to express his hopes for a "positive outcome" to the talks and a resumption of intelligence sharing.

Downing Street said Starmer told Trump "that UK officials had been speaking to Ukraine officials over the weekend and they remain committed to a lasting peace".

The British prime minister also said he hoped "there would be a positive outcome to the talks that would enable US aid and intelligence sharing to be restarted".

A Ukrainian official said the ceasefire proposal could serve as a starting point for a larger peace deal.

"We do have a proposal for a ceasefire in the sky and ceasefire at sea, because these are the ceasefire options that are easy to install and to monitor and it's possible to start with them," the official explained.

Ukraine has faced intense aerial assaults from Russia since intelligence links were suspended, highlighting its vulnerability without external support.

Witkoff also expressed optimism about the talks: "I think that we're going over there with an expectation that we're going to make substantial progress."

When asked if Zelensky would sign the minerals deal this week, Witkoff replied: "I am really hopeful. All the signs are very, very positive."

Over the weekend, Trump told reporters that intelligence sharing was "just about" restored, despite his blunt assessment that Ukraine "may not survive" the conflict.