Zelensky postponed his visit to Saudi Arabia amid ongoing Russian-American negotiations.
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on February 18 that he has postponed his visit to Saudi Arabia amid negotiations between the United States and Russia.
"We were not invited to this Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia. It was a surprise for us. I don't want any overlaps, so I am not going to Saudi Arabia," Zelensky said during a briefing following his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as reported by Kyiv Independent.
The negotiations in Saudi Arabia marked the first direct talks between the United States and Russia since the onset of Moscow's full-scale invasion. The Russian delegation, led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials.
Zelensky emphasized that no decisions regarding Ukraine's future can be made without Kyiv's involvement. He also mentioned that he expects U.S. officials to visit Ukraine, confirming that Trump's special representative for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, will arrive in Kyiv on February 19.
"Any country has a bilateral track with other countries. Please, you can discuss anything you want, but you cannot make decisions on how to end the war in Ukraine without Ukraine," Zelensky stated.
The president also informed that he spoke with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, and has rescheduled his visit to Riyadh for March 10.
In an interview with the German media network ARD on February 17, Zelensky warned against a hastily concluded peace agreement and confirmed that Ukraine would not accept any deal reached without its participation.
It remains unclear how involved Ukraine and Europe will be in the upcoming negotiations between Washington and Moscow.
Background. As reported, Rheinmetall Director Armin Papperger noted that Europe finds itself at the "children's table" in negotiations concerning Ukraine.
"If you do not invest in your defense, if you are not strong, they treat you like children," Papperger said.