British PM, Trump hold phone conversation ahead of US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia

LONDON - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday spoke to US President Donald Trump by phone ahead of the US-Ukraine meeting in Saudi Arabia's port city of Jeddah, Downing Street said in a statement.

Starmer said British officials had been speaking to Ukrainian officials over the weekend and they remained committed to a lasting peace, said the statement.

The prime minister voiced hope that there would be a positive outcome to the talks that would enable US aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine to be restored.

The two leaders also spoke about the economic deal they had discussed at the White House, and Starmer welcomed the detailed conversations that had already happened to move this forward, according to the statement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US State Secretary Marco Rubio arrived in Saudi Arabia before the high-stakes talks expected between delegations.

The upcoming Ukraine-US meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, came about two weeks after a rare shouting match at the White House between Trump and Zelensky in late February, leading to the cancellation of a bilateral minerals agreement and suspension of US military assistance to Ukraine.