Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that Ukraine will not recognize any agreement on the war reached between the United States and Russia without its direct involvement.
His remarks come as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is set to meet with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia for talks on ending the nearly three-year war. The discussions mark the highest-level in-person engagement between the two nations since the conflict began.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Riyadh for the talks, which could set the stage for a potential meeting later this month between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Meanwhile, European Union leaders are holding an emergency summit in Paris to address concerns that Trump’s approach could sideline both Ukraine and the EU in negotiations.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine was not invited to the talks and would not acknowledge any outcome reached without its involvement.
“Ukraine will not take part. Ukraine did not know anything about it,” Zelenskyy told reporters in a virtual briefing from the United Arab Emirates, where he is on an official visit.
“Ukraine considers any negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine to be invalid, and we cannot recognize any agreements made about us without us,” he added.
Zelenskyy said he plans to visit Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
The U.S. State Department confirmed that senior officials will meet with their Russian counterparts in Riyadh on Tuesday.
“Secretary of State Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet with the Russian delegation,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
The Kremlin had earlier announced Lavrov’s participation in the talks.
The discussions come amid intensified fighting in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian military officials report Russian forces advancing toward the strategic city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. Moscow also launched a large-scale drone attack on Ukrainian cities ahead of the EU summit.
