The President of Ukraine has expressed his discontent for not being invited to the upcoming talks and has made it clear that he will not accept any outcome if his country does not participate. Ukraine's presence in the peace negotiations has been a fundamental part of U.S. policy under the Biden administration.
In a statement to reporters during a conference call from the United Arab Emirates, President Zelensky said he doubts that the meeting can achieve anything without the presence of Ukrainian representatives. He mentioned that he will soon travel to Turkey and Saudi Arabia, although he clarified that these trips are not related to the planned talks between the U.S. and Russia.
For his part, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has pointed out that the main focus of the talks will be to restore relations between the U.S. and Russia, in addition to exploring possible dialogues to resolve the situation in Ukraine and prepare a meeting between the two presidents. On the Fox News Channel program, advisor Steve Witkoff expressed his optimism about making significant progress in relations between Russia and Ukraine.
Regarding possible negotiated agreements, it has been hinted that Ukraine may have to cede some of its territory in some scenario, although this issue has not been answered directly. Additionally, the idea that Ukraine's accession to NATO is an unrealistic possibility has been raised, and it has been suggested that Kiev should give up the idea of recovering all the territory captured by Russia.
These discussions between the U.S. and Russia follow the phone call between Trump and Putin the previous week, where they agreed to initiate negotiations immediately. This shift in U.S. policy has marked the end of Russia's isolation following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Despite these moves, Ukraine's absence from the talks has generated criticism from President Zelensky, who has made it clear that he will not recognize any outcome of the negotiations between the U.S. and Russia if his country is not present.
