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Zelensky: Ukraine will not recognize US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia

2025-02-17 18:49:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Ukraine will not participate in talks between American and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the media in Abu Dhabi, at the start of his visits to the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Zelensky has said that Ukraine is not aware of the talks between the United States and Russia in Saudi Arabia and considers that any negotiations about Ukraine, but without Ukraine, will have no result.

"We cannot recognize any agreement for us, without us," Zelensky told reporters in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

"We will not recognize these agreements," he said.

The US special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, said on Monday afternoon that no one will impose the peace deal on Zelensky and that "he and his people will make that decision."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's aide for foreign policy, will travel to Saudi Arabia to meet with their American counterparts, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The talks scheduled for February 18 in Riyadh will focus on improving relations between Moscow and Washington, Peskov told reporters.

The United States will be represented by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is already in Riyadh, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and special envoy Steve Witkoff, the US State Department confirmed.

Speaking at a press conference in Moscow, alongside his Serbian counterpart, Lavrov said that Europe has already had several opportunities to get involved in finding a solution for Ukraine, and he does not know how European states could contribute if they were invited to the negotiating table, considering that European politicians want the war to continue.

Although there are different views on Ukraine among European politicians, most agree that they want "long-term peace" for Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump has insisted that Zelensky "will be involved" in negotiations to end the Russian war, while saying he could meet with Kremlin leader Putin very soon.

The war in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin calls the war a "special military operation" to demilitarize Ukraine.

The West has responded to Russia by hitting the country's economy with harsh sanctions.

As a result of the war, thousands of people have died and millions more have been displaced from their homes./ REL