LAST UPDATE: 18:50
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared on Tuesday that Ukraine would not accept any bilateral agreements concerning its future negotiated solely between Moscow and Washington without Kyiv’s participation. He also urged European nations to actively take a seat at the negotiating table to help end the ongoing war.
“It is crucial that everything does not go according to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s plan, in which he seeks to turn negotiations into a bilateral process with the United States,” Zelensky told reporters.
His statement came amid growing concerns that Russia is attempting to sideline Ukraine in future peace discussions by engaging directly with the United States— a move that Kyiv sees as an effort to undermine its sovereignty and bargaining power.
Zelensky also addressed his recent conversation with former U.S. President Donald Trump, emphasizing that while he does not view Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin as indicative of the official stance of the U.S. administration, he admitted that the development was unsettling. “It was not pleasant for me,” Zelensky acknowledged, without elaborating further.
Kremlin: Ukraine to be involved in peace talks
Ukraine will be involved “one way or another” in any negotiations aimed at ending the war, but there will also be a separate U.S.-Russia track in the peace process, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier today, according to the state news agency TASS. However, it is noteworthy that these statements of behalf of the Russian government were made after Zelensky’s declaration that Ukraine would not accept any bilateral agreements concerning its future.
Source: ANA-MPA, Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas
