Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that Ukraine would not recognise any peace agreements made without its participation, as top Russian and US officials prepare to meet in Saudi Arabia for high-stakes talks on the war in Ukraine.

“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 on Monday. His comments came as Russian and American officials travelled to Riyadh before Tuesday’s talks aimed at ending Moscow’s nearly three-year war in Ukraine, with Kyiv and Europe excluded from the negotiations.

Zelenskyy confirmed Ukraine would not take part in the talks. “Ukraine did not know anything about it,” he said.

The swift push to organise the US-Russia talks came after last week’s call between Trump and Vladimir Putin, where the two leaders discussed opening negotiations on the war. The meeting in Riyadh will mark the first in-person discussions between top officials from both countries in years, after a sharp downturn in relations after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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