Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he is canceling his visit to Saudi Arabia, which was scheduled for tomorrow. Zelensky made the announcement during a press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ukrinform reported, quoted by BTA.
„Decisions on how to end the war in Ukraine cannot be made without Ukraine, nor can certain conditions be imposed. We were not invited to this Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia, which was a surprise for us, I think for many others as well. We learned about it from the media. I don't know who will be there, who will leave and who plans to go where. "To be honest, I don't care," Zelensky said.
He added that he didn't want to have any misunderstandings on the matter, so he decided not to go to Saudi Arabia.
“We contacted our partners there and I have very good relations with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman. We agreed to make an official visit on March 10,“ the Ukrainian president added.
The talks between American and Russian representatives took place today in Riyadh. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met before the start of talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
Among the American representatives in Riyadh were also National Security Advisor Mike Walz and US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff. The Russian side was represented by Foreign Policy Advisor Yuri Ushakov and Head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev.
The talks lasted more than 4 hours, including a 15-minute break and a working lunch.