Postpones his trip

Zelensky postpones his trip to Saudi Arabia after Ukraine's exclusion from US-Russia talks

From CNN’S Svitlana Vlasova and Christian Edwards

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is postponing his official visit to Saudi Arabia until March 10, after Kyiv was excluded from US-Russia talks in Riyadh on Tuesday.

Zelensky had said on Monday that he was scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia later this week.

“We were not invited to this Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia. It was a surprise for us. I think it was a surprise for many people,” Zelensky said at a news conference in Turkey’s capital Ankara, after the US-Russia talks wrapped in Riyadh. “We are absolutely honest and open. I don’t want any coincidences. That’s why I’m not going to Saudi Arabia,” he said.

Zelensky said he wants the war to end, “but we want it to be fair and that no one decides anything behind our backs.”

“You cannot make decisions without Ukraine on how to end the war in Ukraine, on any conditions,” he stressed.

The Ukrainian leader added that he is “expecting” a US delegation to arrive in Kyiv. Zelensky said earlier that Keith Kellogg — the Trump administration’s Russia-Ukraine envoy who was not part of the US delegation in Riyadh — is scheduled to visit Ukraine Thursday.