By Olena Harmash and Andrea Shalal
KYIV/WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators will hold talks in Miami on Saturday that a source familiar with the matter said could lay the groundwork for another meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Zelenskiy told reporters on Friday that the U.S. and Ukrainian working groups would focus on bilateral documents and discuss a wide-ranging drone deal during the weekend meeting.
Ukraine, eager to capitalize on its expertise in defending against Russian drone attacks, is also working to finalize agreements with eight Middle Eastern countries as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran escalates, the source said.
UKRAINIAN DRONE SPECIALISTS WORKING WITH COUNTRIES
Zelenskiy told reporters Kyiv has deployed 228 specialists to help Middle Eastern countries with drone defense, and is working with Middle Eastern leaders to sign "serious agreements," but gave no details.
The talks in Miami were initially planned to include Russian negotiators and take place in Abu Dhabi, with a focus on finding a settlement to the four-year-old war sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The trilateral meeting in the United Arab Emirates was postponed after the outbreak of the Iran conflict on February 28. The White House had no immediate comment on the weekend meeting.
WITKOFF, KUSHNER LEAD U.S. TEAM
Washington's negotiating team will be led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, the source said.
Zelenskiy told reporters that Ukraine was sending his chief of staff, Kyrylo Budanov, and his deputy, Serhiy Kyslytsia, as well as Davyd Arakhamia, the head of his parliamentary faction.
Ukraine and Russia have held two sets of U.S.-brokered talks in the UAE this year and a round in Geneva last month.
Ukraine has expressed grave concerns to U.S. officials about Washington's moves to temporarily lift sanctions on Russia's oil sales as oil prices have surged during the Iran war, the source said, noting Russia had seen a gain of about $10 billion in the conflict's first weeks.
Kyiv is also eager to keep purchasing U.S. weapons despite Washington's focus on the Middle East and what it sees as a "moment of complete uncertainty," the source said.
"There were some disruptions at the beginning of the (Iran) operation, but those were mitigated, and we haven't seen any major decisions on repurposing the existing stocks or suspending the supply," the source said.
Ukraine has long asked for more PAC-3 missiles for its Patriot defense systems and is running short, the source said.
U.S. and Ukrainian officials will meet again in Kyiv next week for the third meeting of the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, which has aimed to approve a first joint investment project by the end of March.
(Reporting by Olena Harmash in Kyiv and Andrea Shalal in Washington, writing by Andrea Shalal and Max Hunder; Editing by Aidan Lewis, Patricia Zengerle and Rod Nickel)
