Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that US President Donald Trump has assured him that both Ukraine and Russia will be included in future peace negotiations, according to Interfax-Russia.

This comes after US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia for 5 hours on 18 February without Ukraine’s participation. It marked the first such dialogue since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.  

Bloomberg reported that the Saudi prince had suggested inviting Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to the talks, but the US and Russian representatives insisted on a bilateral meeting.

In response, Zelenskyy criticized the talks in Saudi Arabia, saying they had “the same spirit” as the Russian ultimatum at the start of the full-scale invasion. He also emphasized that any decisions regarding Ukraine’s future must involve Ukrainian participation. 

“President Trump told me during a telephone conversation, I can confirm this, that the United States assumes the negotiation process will take place with the participation of both Russia and Ukraine. No one is excluding Ukraine from this process,” Putin said, Interfax-Russia reports.

The Russian leader suggested this confirmation should alleviate concerns about bilateral Russian-American meetings, stating, “Therefore, there is no basis for such a reaction to the Russian-American meeting.”

Putin also mentioned that Russia intends to brief its BRICS partners about the Russian-American negotiations, noting their interest in resolving the crisis between Russia and Ukraine.

“We will without any doubt inform our friends within BRICS,” Putin said. “We know their interest in settling Russian-Ukrainian relations.”

While expressing willingness to meet with Trump, Putin emphasized that such a meeting would require proper preparation “to produce results.”

US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce clarified that the meeting in Saudi Arabia should not be interpreted as negotiations regarding Ukraine, but rather as a part of broader efforts to normalize relations between Russia and the US. 

After the talks with the US, Russian negotiators said they had gone “quite well” and that the Russian and US teams would begin contacts on Ukraine “in due course.” They also agreed to restore the staff of their embassies in Washington and Moscow.

Related:

• US, Russia hold five-hour talks in Saudi Arabia without Ukraine’s participation
• US-Russia meeting in Saudi Arabia is not talks on Ukraine – State Department
• Zelenskyy rejects to recognize US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia excluding Ukraine
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