Ukraine will "never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia" regarding the outcome of peace negotiation without Ukraine's participation, President Volodymyr Zelensky told NBC News in an interview published Feb. 16.
Zelensky's comments, which were made during the Munich Security Conference, come amid reports that a U.S. delegation is set to meet with its Russian counterparts on Feb. 18 in Saudi Arabia for the start of negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
"We have this place at the table at the very beginning, and we are the first who are at this table because the war is in Ukraine," Zelensky added, noting that Ukrainians would never accept a peace deal that was negotiated on their behalf.
"We are thankful for all the support, unity in the U.S. around Ukraine support - even bipartisan support - we are thankful for all of this, but there is no leader in the world that can make a deal with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin without us, about us."
Concerns have been raised about Ukraine's role in the negotiations, with European officials emphasizing that Kyiv must not be sidelined. Kyiv has not received an invitation to attend the meeting in Riyadh, with President Volodymyr Zelensky telling reporters that he found out about the meetings through media reports.
"We didn't talk about it. The media printed something. I saw that someone said that there would be a meeting in Saudi Arabia. I do not know what it is," Zelensky said on Feb. 15.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Zelensky, denied on Feb. 15 that Ukraine will participate in an upcoming meeting between Russia and the United States in Saudi Arabia.
"There is nothing on the negotiating table that would be worth discussing," Podolyak said on Ukrainian TV, adding that "Russia is not ready for negotiations."
Earlier in the day on Feb. 16, Trump reaffirmed that Zelensky would have a say in the process and mentioned the possibility of allowing European nations to purchase U.S.-made weapons for Ukraine.
Dmytro Basmat
