Zelensky delays trip to Saudi Arabia amid US-Russia talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has postponed an official visit to Saudi Arabia set for this week amid U.S.-Russia negotiations in Riyadh.

Zelensky, who was not planning to participate in the Tuesday talks between Washington and Moscow to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, said he was delaying the trip because of Kyiv’s lack of invitation to the negotiations. He suggested that he wanted to avoid his visit being tied to the meetup.

“We were not invited to this Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia. It was a surprise for us. I think it was a surprise for many people,” Zelensky said at a news conference in Ankara alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “We are absolutely honest and open. I don’t want any coincidences. That’s why I’m not going to Saudi Arabia.”

Zelensky will now visit Saudi Arabia on March 10. He had said Monday that he planned to visit the country later this week.

The change comes amid an ongoing geopolitical gambit by President Trump to end the Ukraine-Russia war that has left out Kyiv and key allies.

No Ukrainian officials were present at the meeting, which took place among U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aide. U.S. national security adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff were also in attendance, though representatives from any European ally country were not.

After the meeting, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement that the group agreed to restore embassy staffing, address “irritants” to the U.S.-Russia relationship, appoint teams to work on a ceasefire agreement between Moscow and Kyiv, and start preparation for “future cooperation on matters of mutual geopolitical interest and historic economic and investment opportunities.”

It remains to be seen how far the Trump administration can get in the negotiations without the involvement of Ukraine. Zelensky on Monday revealed Kyiv would not participate in the talks as they “knew nothing about them,” but he stressed that any negotiations about his country without its involvement would have “no results.” 

“We can not recognize anything or any agreements about us without us,” Zelensky told reporters.

On Tuesday in Ankara, he reiterated that “it is critical that any negotiations to end the war are not happening behind the backs of the key parties affected by the Russian aggression.”

“You cannot make decisions without Ukraine on how to end the war in Ukraine, on any conditions,” he said.