Zelenskyy delays Saudi Arabia visit to avoid legitimizing U.S.-Russia talks

Reuters reported the information, citing sources.

Zelenskyy said his visit, originally set for Wednesday, is now scheduled for March 10, emphasizing that he wanted to avoid “any coincidences.”

“(Ukraine) didn’t want to appear to give anything that happened in Riyadh any legitimacy,” one source stated.

Speaking in Turkey, Zelenskyy said he was not invited to the high-level U.S.-Russia meeting, which included both countries’ foreign ministers on Tuesday.

“We want no one to decide anything behind our backs... No decision can be made without Ukraine on how to end the war in Ukraine,” he stressed.

U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia on February 18

On February 18, U.S. Secretary of State Mark Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks in the Saudi capital. They lasted almost 5 hours. 

Marco Rubio stated after the negotiations that ending the war in Ukraine would require all sides to make concessions, but it would be wrong to determine them in advance. According to him, the countries agreed to restore the staff of their embassies in Washington and Moscow to create "missions to support peace negotiations on Ukraine, bilateral relations, and broader cooperation."

At the same time, Fox News journalist Jacqui Heinrich reported that the United States and Russia are allegedly proposing a three-stage peace plan, which, in particular, includes holding presidential elections in Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on the U.S.-Russia talks in Riyadh without Ukraine's participation, saying that Kyiv would not accept Russia's ultimatums.