Kyiv, Feb 17: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that Kyiv would not participate in the upcoming US-Russia negotiations set to take place in Saudi Arabia this week, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported.
“Ukraine will not take part. Ukraine knew nothing about this,” Zelensky was quoted as saying, emphasising that Kyiv will not accept the results of the negotiations that do not involve Ukraine. “We cannot recognise anything or any agreements about us without us. And we will not recognise such agreements,” he emphasised.
Zelensky added that his official visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday “has no connection with the things that are happening in Saudi Arabia at the level of representatives of the United States and Russia,” Xinhua news agency reported.
The US and Russian delegations are set to meet on Tuesday to discuss a possible solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to local media reports. Russian and US envoys will prepare possible talks on Ukrainian settlement and organise a meeting of their Presidents during the Tuesday meeting, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
Peskov said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Aide to the President of Russia Yuri Ushakov on Monday were flying to Riyadh on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding that they will meet with US representatives on Tuesday.
Lavrov and Ushakov will report to Putin on the results of the talks there, he said. The representatives from the US side will be Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, NBC News reported.
Putin and US President Donald Trump held a telephone conversation on February 12, during which the two leaders agreed to keep personal contacts, including arranging a meeting in the future.
IANS