JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, late Monday evening, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Tuesday.

The SPA said on social media platform X that the Saudi crown prince received the Ukrainian president at the Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah, where an official reception ceremony was held. The two leaders also held formal talks.

Zelensky arrived in the Saudi coastal city earlier on Monday, ahead of U.S.-Ukraine talks.

"On Monday, I am scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia to meet with the Crown Prince (Mohammed bin Salman). After that, my team will remain in Saudi Arabia to work with our American partners," the Kiev-based Ukrainian News Agency quoted Zelensky as saying on Friday.

Also on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Jeddah and met with the Saudi crown prince.

According to a previous statement by the U.S. State Department, Rubio will stay in Jeddah from Monday to Wednesday and meet with a Ukrainian delegation "to advance the President (Trump)'s goal to end the Russia-Ukraine war."

The upcoming Ukraine-U.S. meeting, reportedly on Tuesday, follows a rare shouting match at the White House between U.S. President Donald Trump and Zelensky in late February, which led to the cancellation of a bilateral minerals agreement and the subsequent suspension of U.S. military aid to Ukraine. Enditem

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