Bangladesh, Feb. 18 -- The upcoming meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Riyadh on February 18 has drawn sharp criticism from Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who has outright rejected the negotiations as meaningless. The meeting marks the highest-level discussions between Washington and Moscow over Ukraine since the conflict escalated in 2022. However, Kievs exclusion from the talks has led Zelensky to declare that any agreement reached without Ukraines participation will not be recognized by his government.

Speaking to reporters on February 17, Zelensky expressed his frustration, stating, “Ukraine considers any negotiations about Ukraine that are being held without ...