The president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenskyhe has announced, visibly counter, that he will not travel to Saudi Arabiaas planned, due to the meeting they have held on Tuesday in Riyadh responsible for Russian and American diplomacySergei Lavrov and Marco Rubio, respectively.
“I don’t want to coincide and that’s why I will not go to Saudi Arabia“He said at a press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Ankara, one of the scenarios of the regional tour that would take Riyader on Wednesday.
“We want to end the war more than anyone, we want it to be done fairly And not behind our backs, “has emphasized a Zelensky, who has not hidden his discomfort for the meeting they have held in the last hours Washington and Moscow.” It has been a surprise for us. We find out the press, “he said.
New date on the calendar
The Ukrainian president has reported that they have contacted the Saudi authorities to transfer them Change of plans and that they have agreed to hold the meeting on March 10.
“I don’t know who will stay there or who will leave. I don’t care. I don’t care if our partners think about us too much,” Zelensky said at another time in the press conference, in which he has also confirmed that US officials have planned to visit kyiv in upcoming dates.
Ukraine as a central role in negotiations
Not only has the central role that Ukraine must have in any negotiation About his future, but he has also left room for other “key actors” to feel at the negotiating table, such as the European Union, the United Kingdom and Türkiye.
“They must participate in the negotiations and in the development of the necessary security guarantees together with the United States” since it concerns the destiny of a part of the world, “said the Ukrainian president.
Likewise, the Ukrainian President has continued with the reproaches to the United Statesthis time for its position contrary to the adhesion of Ukraine in NATO. “This is Russia’s great desire,” said the president who, despite everything, is confident that his country ends at some point by entering the Atlantic block.
However, Zelensky believes that “there are still security guarantees that can be effective”, such as further reinforce the Ukrainian armyor deploy foreign peace forces in Ukraine, including those of the United States.
Washington and Moscow ruled out Ukrainian presence
After passing through the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, on Wednesday it was planned that Zelensky will meet in Riyadh with Prime Minister and Prince Prince, Mohamed Bin Bin Salmán, who had opted for the participation of the Ukrainian President in this meeting with Lavrov and Rubio.
However, Washington and Moscow insisted that They did not want Ukrainian representation at this first meetingas has told the Bloomberg agency a source related to the preparations of the Saudi authorities of the meeting.
Even so, Russia and the United States have agreed on Tuesday Continue negotiating to “end as soon as possible” the conflict in Ukraine. Despite what was agreed by both, Zelensky already advanced on the eve that he would not accept any of the agreements that could arise from these meetings if Ukraine was held outside the negotiating table.
