Saudi Arabia wanted Ukrainians at talks, but US and Russia were opposed

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had requested that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy participate in the discussions between Russia and the United States in Riyadh, but both the Americans and the Russians insisted that the talks take place without the Ukrainians.

Source: Bloomberg, citing a source aware of the matter, as reported by European Pravda

Details: As has been reported, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Putin's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov met with the US delegation, represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, in Saudi Arabia on 18 February.

Bloomberg's source said Prince Mohammed had wanted Zelenskyy to be involved in the talks, but both the Americans and the Russians insisted that they wanted to meet without the Ukrainians.

The source said the Saudi ruler plans to brief the Ukrainian president on the Kingdom's role in convening the talks and his discussions with Russian and American officials.

Following the talks between the Russian and US delegations on 18 February, Zelenskyy announced that he is postponing his visit to Saudi Arabia.

Quote from Zelenskyy: "We were not invited to this Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia. It was a surprise for us. I don't want any coincidences, so I'm not going to Saudi Arabia."

Details: Zelenskyy added that his visit will take place on 10 March.

Background:

• Following the talks between Russia and the United States, the US State Department reported that the US and Russian delegations had agreed to "eliminate obstacles" to bilateral relations and continue to work on preparing for talks on Russia's war against Ukraine.
• In particular, they agreed to appoint high-level groups for negotiations on Ukraine.
• Fox News host and White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich said that the US and Russia are discussing a three-stage peace plan for Ukraine, which includes a ceasefire, elections in Ukraine, and eventually the signing of a final agreement.

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