On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

This comes before negotiations between Ukrainian and American officials to end the conflict with Russia at a time when Kyiv’s position is becoming more vulnerable.

In its professed desire for a speedy conclusion to the conflict, the United States—once Ukraine’s principal ally—has reversed its wartime practices, interacting directly with Moscow while cutting off Kyiv’s access to military support and information.

Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, whose nation has mediated hostilities between Russia and the United States last month and mediated prisoner swaps since Russia’s 2022 invasion.

A bilateral minerals deal and ways to end the war are scheduled to be the main topics of Tuesday’s US-Ukrainian discussions, which are the first formal gathering since Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump’s disastrous Oval Office meeting.

Despite failing to get U.S. security guarantees that Kyiv views as essential to any peace agreement, Zelenskyy has been at pains to demonstrate that they are on the same page in response to intense pressure from Trump, who wants the war to end quickly.

The Ukrainian team will comprise Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, his foreign and defense ministers, and a senior military officer in the presidential administration. Zelenskyy has stated that he will not be attending the meetings with US officials on Tuesday.