On the day of negotiations between Russia and the US, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Ankara to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Before that, he attended the opening ceremony of the new building of the Ukrainian embassy, where during a meeting with the Ukrainian community, Zelensky stated that he does not intend to "accept Russia's ultimatums" that have been put forward since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. He recalled that in 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine at night, and Ukrainians took up arms to defend the state without anyone's help. "No one helped Ukraine at that moment. And then, when everyone saw that Putin could not capture our state, that our people, our military, would not go anywhere, that the President of Ukraine did not flee, everyone realized that Ukraine needed help. And only then did some assistance begin — in different volumes from different countries," Zelensky noted.
According to Zelensky, at that moment, Russia issued an ultimatum to Ukraine to reduce the size of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, to recognize the occupied territories of Ukraine as Russian territories, but even at that moment, the ultimatum was not accepted.
"And I have the impression that some negotiations are happening now, and they are happening with the same attitude. But they are happening between representatives of Russia and representatives of the United States of America again about Ukraine and without Ukraine. It's interesting, if we did not accept all these ultimatums at the most difficult moment — where does the feeling come from that Ukraine will accept them now?" Zelensky emphasized.
At a press conference after talks with Erdoğan, Zelensky again emphasized that no one should decide Ukraine's fate behind its back. The head of state stressed that Ukraine, more than anyone, wants to end the war, but for it to happen justly.
"And so that no one decides anything behind our back. And I think — this is fair. Any country has a bilateral track with other countries. Please, you can discuss anything. But you cannot make a decision without Ukraine on how to end the war in Ukraine, under certain conditions. And we were not invited to this Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia. It was a surprise for us. I think, as for many," Zelensky noted, adding that he learned about the meeting of the US and Russian delegations from the media.
Zelensky also announced the cancellation of the planned visit to Riyadh on February 19 due to the meeting of representatives of Russia and the US. "I don't know who will stay there, and who will leave, who is going where. Honestly, I don't care. I do care that partners do not think anything unnecessary about us. We are absolutely honest, open. I don't want coincidences. Therefore, I will not go to Saudi Arabia," UNIAN quotes him.
He also noted that Ukraine should receive security guarantees. According to him, they should be provided by the US, the EU, Turkey, and all of Europe. As well as sitting at the negotiating table.
Photo: P. Peleckis / BNS