Ukraine to Deny Any Peace Deal from the Ceasefire Talks in Riyadh

SEAToday.com, Jakarta - Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated Ukraine's stance that it will not recognize any peace agreements concerning its territory if Ukraine is not involved in the negotiations.

“Ukraine regards any negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine as ones that have no result, and we cannot recognise … any agreements about us without us,” Zelenskyy said as quoted on The Guardian on Monday.

His comments came as senior Russian and US officials prepared to meet in Riyadh for high-stakes talks on the war in Ukraine, excluding Kyiv and Europe from the discussions.

Zelenskyy confirmed he would travel to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday but made it clear his visit was unrelated to the US-Russia peace talks. He also stated that Ukraine was not aware of the talks and would not be attending.

The upcoming talks in Saudi Arabia will be the first in-person discussions between senior US and Russian officials in years, signaling the importance both sides place on the talks.

The US delegation will include several senior officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, while Russia will send its top foreign policy officials, Sergei Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov.

Despite the ongoing talks, Zelenskyy stressed that Europe should be included in any negotiations and suggested that China might also have a role if it could offer security guarantees against Russian aggression.

In response to the talks, European officials expressed concerns about being excluded and vowed to push for a more active role in future discussions.

Writer: Andi Raisa Malaha Thambas