President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has cancelled his visit to Saudi Arabia due to the talks between Russia and the United States and the Russian delegation's stay there. He said this at a press conference in Turkey.
Ukraine wants no decisions to be made behind its back, he said. Zelenskyy added that all countries have a bilateral track for discussion, but it cannot be decided without Ukraine how to end its war.
‘We were not invited to this meeting. The Russian-American one in Saudi Arabia. It was a surprise for us, I think, like for many people. We received this information from the media,’ the president said.
He added that he did not care who remained in Saudi Arabia at the time of his arrival. But he does care if our partners think something unnecessary about us.
‘That's why I'm not going to Saudi Arabia. We have contacted our partners in Saudi Arabia,’ the president said.
The visit to Saudi Arabia will now take place on 10 March. The US delegation is expected in Kyiv.
US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia
- An American delegation led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio met in Saudi Arabia with Russians led by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
- After the conversation with the Russians, the State Department said that the parties had agreed to ‘eliminate irritants’. They announced the creation of teams to discuss the end of the ‘conflict’ in Ukraine. Mark Rubio also said that the EU would have to come to the negotiating table because they had imposed sanctions on Russia.
- Ukraine is not taking part in the talks between the US and Russia. Yesterday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was unaware of the Russian invitation to Saudi Arabia, a visit he had planned in advance. The trip to Saudi Arabia is part of a tour. First, he was in the UAE, and then he arrived in Turkey.