Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara that today's meeting between Russia and the United States in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was a “surprise” for Kiev, emphasizing that the Ukrainian side learned about it from the media, Anadolu Agency reports, BTA reports.
“There can be no solution to end the war without Ukraine”, Zelensky said, adding that he had postponed his visit to Saudi Arabia, planned for tomorrow, until March 10. He explained that negotiations on the end of the war cannot be held without Ukraine's participation.
“As a country, we want peace, we want an end to the war. But we want this end to be based on certain security guarantees“, Zelensky stressed. He specified that he expects these guarantees to be provided by the US, the EU, Turkey and all of Europe.
Zelensky also expressed Ukraine's readiness to discuss guarantees with its allies, adding that if Turkey can provide the necessary security guarantees, it will be welcome to participate in this process.
“We will never and under any circumstances recognize our temporarily occupied territories as part of Russia. "They are part of Ukraine," the Ukrainian president said, stressing that Ukraine will never compromise its territorial integrity or sovereignty.
Earlier in the day, delegations from Russia and the United States met in Riyadh for the first high-level talks since the war began in February 2022. They agreed to more talks aimed at ending the conflict and improving bilateral relations, the Anadolu Agency noted.