Ukraine's president seems to get his way.
The Kremlin's spokesperson, Dmitrij Peskov, says that Ukraine "definitely" gets to participate in the talks, but only "in one way or another".
But there will also be a parallel Russian-American sideline, he says, according to Russian state-owned Tass.
And it will be about Ukraine, says Peskov.
The top-level meeting between Trump and Vladimir Putin, announced by US President Donald Trump, has not yet been given a date, says Peskov.
It can take weeks, it can take months, it can take many months, he says on Russian TV according to AFP.
"Do not accept"
Earlier on Thursday, Zelenskyj said:
We do not accept an agreement that is concluded without us.
The Ukrainian leader's comments came after Wednesday's reports that the US and Russia are to initiate negotiations about the war in Ukraine – on their own.
US President Donald Trump has announced a top-level meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia.
Trump also spoke with Zelenskyj on Wednesday – after his administration announced that it is not "practical" to offer Ukraine membership in NATO and that a return to Ukraine's borders from before 2014 is "unrealistic".
Not nice
Zelenskyj still seemed positive after the conversation with the American leader. But during a visit to a nuclear power plant in western Ukraine, he says that bilateral talks about Ukraine without Ukraine will not be accepted.
The main thing is that not everything goes according to Putin's plan.
Zelenskyj says that it was not "nice" that Trump called Putin before him, but that he still believes that Trump has Ukraine's best interests as a priority and emphasizes that Trump told him that he wants to talk to both him and Putin at the same time.
He never mentioned that Putin and Russia were a priority. Today we trust his words. For us, it is important to maintain US support.
