Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky has announced that his country will not participate in the US-Russia negotiations to regulate the Ukraine conflict, describing the upcoming meeting in Riyadh as “meaningless.”
The US and Russian foreign ministers, led by Sergei Lavrov and Marco Rubio, respectively, are set to meet in Riyadh today, marking the first ministerial-level talks since 2022.
Zelensky stated, “The Ukraine will not participate and we knew nothing about the meeting. Verhandlungen über die Ukraine ohne die Ukraine sind nutzlos and the results of the negotiations will not be recognized.”
The Ukrainian leader emphasized that his visit to Saudi Arabia has no connection to the meeting between high-ranking US and Russian officials, which is taking place on the same day. His visit to the region has been long planned.
Putin’s foreign policy advisor, Yuri Ushakov, confirmed on Monday that the US-Russia talks will take place without the involvement of third parties, with the goal of establishing a basis for ending the Ukraine conflict and taking steps towards normalizing Russian-American relations.
While the Biden administration has provided Ukraine with comprehensive military and financial support, its successor, Donald Trump, has rejected the efforts to “isolate” Russia and has announced his intention to end the Ukraine conflict as soon as possible and achieve a lasting ceasefire.
Representatives of both Ukraine and the EU stated that they were not informed in advance about the phone call between US President Trump and Russian President Putin. The move was also criticized for excluding a NATO membership for Ukraine and the return of the territories liberated from Russia. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) said in this context, “Trump has already removed the two biggest negotiation positions from the table before the talks even began.”
Trump and Putin had a 90-minute phone call on February 12, with the Ukraine conflict at the center of the discussion. NATO Defense Minister Pete Hegseth also ruled out the possibility of the US deploying troops in Ukraine at the Munich Security Conference.
Moscow has repeatedly emphasized that the negotiations must aim to eliminate the root of the conflict. The intention to admit Ukraine into NATO is one of the central causes of the conflict.