Bloomberg: Saudis wanted to include Zelensky, but Russians and Americans refused

(Patria) - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman requested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky participate in yesterday's meeting between Russia and the US in Riyadh.

However, both sides - Americans and Russians - insisted that the meeting be held without the Ukrainians, Bloomberg reported, citing a source familiar with the situation.

Let us recall that yesterday in Riyadh, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov met with an American delegation represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

Bloomberg's source said that the Crown Prince wanted to include Zelensky in the talks, but both sides, Russia and the US, insisted that the meeting must be held without Ukraine.

The source also noted that the Saudi ruler plans to inform the Ukrainian president about the Kingdom's role in organizing the meeting and about his talks with Russian and American officials.

After yesterday's talks between the Russian and American delegations, Zelensky announced that he was postponing his visit to Saudi Arabia.

- We were not invited to this Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia. I don't want any coincidences, so I'm not going to Saudi Arabia - Zelensky said, adding that his visit would be postponed to March 10.

The State Department announced after the US-Russian talks that the two delegations agreed on "removing obstacles" to bilateral relations and continuing preparations for negotiations on Russia's war against Ukraine.

Specifically, it was agreed to appoint "high-level teams" for negotiations on Ukraine.

Fox News journalist and White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich reported that the US and Russia are currently discussing a three-phase peace plan for Ukraine, which includes a ceasefire, elections in Ukraine, and the final signing of a final agreement.