By Janet Ekstract, NEW YORK – Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was the backdrop for the U.S.-Russia Summit on February 18, where U.S. President Donald Trump and top U.S. diplomats met with high-level Russian officials to discuss a potential peace negotiation between Russia and Ukraine. Decidedly absent from the summit were Ukraine’s President Zelensky, Ukrainian officials and EU representatives. The talks that lasted more than four hours focused on ending the war with Ukraine and improving relations between Russia and the U.S. After the talks, Russian negotiator Yuri Ushakov told the media that discussions between the two countries “went well” and that “it was a very serious conversation on all the questions we wanted to touch upon.” It’s not likely that Trump and Putin will meet next week but there are plans for a meeting in the coming weeks, according to sources. Both sides did agree to appoint high-level teams to negotiate the end of the war and said they are working on reopening diplomatic channels.
Meanwhile, having not been invited to the talks in Riyadh, Zelensky was in Ankara to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the presential palace. On his reaction to not being invited, Zelensky said the fact that the U.S. had direct talks with Russia “helped Putin out of his long isolation.” Zelensky also walked back false claims made by Trump, that Ukraine started the war with Russia and not the other way around. As Zelensky commented to the press, “Unfortunately, President Trump – I have great respect for him as a leader of a nation that we have great respect for, the American people who always support us – unfortunately lives in this disinformation space.” President Trump had falsely accused Ukraine of starting the war when in fact, it was Russia who invaded Ukraine. Trump’s response was, “Today, I heard, ‘Oh well, we weren’t invited. Well you been there for three years. You should’ve ended it after three years. You should’ve never started it. You could’ve made a deal.” Trump’s response echoes the Kremlin narrative that the Russian invasion was somehow instigated by Ukraine.
Though Trump’s comments scored points with the Kremlin, it did nothing to allay fears among Ukrainians and prompted Zelensky to remind the Trump administration that no deal can be agreed to without Ukraine’s input and Ukraine at the negotiating table. Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov lauded Trump in his remarks: ““Trump, I think, is the first Western leader to publicly and openly say that the cause of the Ukrainian conflict was the efforts of the previous administration to expand NATO.” Lavrov added, “No Western leader has actually said that before. So, that is already a signal that he understands our position.” Russia has been dead set against Ukraine joining NATO and Ukraine expanded its cooperation with NATO after Russia first attacked Crimea in 2014.
Zelensky’s visit to Turkiye is significant because President Erdogan who had a phone call with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on February 18, said he was positive about the chances of achieving a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, according to the Turkish Communications Directorate’s statement. Erdogan expressed to Rutte that over the last three years of the Ukraine-Russia war that Turkiye had been doing its utmost to end the war by meeting numerous leaders and representatives of international organizations. After his meeting with Zelensky, Erdogan said Turkiye is the perfect host for upcoming meetings between Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. Zelensky was at the inauguration of the new Ukrainian embassy service building in Ankara on Tuesday. In a post on X, Zelensky wrote: “At the beginning of our visit to Turkiye, we honored the memory of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the country’s first president whose legacy remains an important part of Turkiye’s history and values.” At the embassy opening ceremony, Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine wants an end to the war but also needs guaranteed strong security assurances from its international partners. As Zelensky remarked, “As a nation, we desire peace and want this war to end.” He added, “However, this must be based on firm security guarantees. We want these assurances to be provided by the United States, the European Union, Turkiye and all of Europe.”
At a press conference at the new Ukrainian Embassy, Zelensky made it clear that Ukraine won’t compromise on its territorial integrity. As the Ukrainian leader said, “I cannot act against the Ukrainian Constitution.” He added, “We will never recognize our temporarily occupied territories as part of Russia. They are and will remain part of Ukraine.”
