President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid an official visit to Turkiye, emphasizing the importance of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and reiterating the demand for security guarantees amid US President Donald Trump’s peace efforts and US-Russia meeting in Saudi Arabia without Ukrainian representatives, according to Anadolu Agency.
On 12 February, Trump announced the start of negotiations with Moscow to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, following calls with Russian ruler Vladimir Putin. His statement triggered a wave of criticism, as experts warned that it could be a ceasefire on Putin’s terms with a lack of security guarantees for Ukraine, especially after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called Ukraine’s NATO membership aspirations “unrealistic.” This conversation also stirred concerns in Europe, as its representatives were not involved in the negotiations. Amid uncertainty about whether the US will lead to a weakening of NATO due to its increasingly isolationist stance, many media outlets and analysts have labeled this strategy as a victory for Russia.
In Türkiye, the Ukrainian president gave a speech at the opening ceremony of Ukraine’s new Embassy building in Ankara.
“As a country, we want peace; we want the war to end. However, we want the end of this war to be based on certain security guarantees.
We expect these security guarantees to be provided by the US, the EU, Türkiye, and all of Europe,” Zelenskyy said.
He stressed that Ukraine would never compromise on its territorial integrity or sovereignty, stating that he could not act against the Ukrainian Constitution.
“We will never, under any circumstances, recognize our temporarily occupied territories as part of Russia. They are part of Ukraine,” he stressed.
Zelenskyy also reiterated Kyiv’s commitment to regaining its occupied territories through diplomatic means, emphasizing, “because we do not want to lose our people – our people are our greatest treasure.”
He added that these issues would also be discussed during his meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Zelenskyy noted that at the start of the war, there was no diplomacy and described how Russia later set conditions while Ukraine was excluded from negotiations between Moscow and Washington. He stated that even in the most difficult times, Ukraine never accepted ultimatums.
Reaffirming Kyiv’s commitment to diplomacy as a means of resolving the war, Zelenskyy called on all mediators, including Russian, American, and European parties, to engage in constructive dialogue. However, he made it clear that Ukraine would not agree to any outcome that jeopardizes its territorial integrity or sovereignty.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held nearly five hours of talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital. Ukrainian representatives were not invited to the meeting.
The US State Department stated that Rubio and Lavrov agreed to create a consultation mechanism to address “stress factors” in US-Russia relations. They also agreed to form a high-level group to “swiftly” explore ways to end the war in Ukraine.
US, Russia hold five-hour talks in Saudi Arabia without Ukraine’s participation
Related:
- NATO chief: Europe ready to step up to lead Ukraine security guarantees
- Ceasefire without security guarantees will fail like Minsk agreements, Macron warns
- Trump open to allow Europe to buy US-made weapons for Ukraine
- Ukraine rejects US proposal demanding half of its mineral resources
- Trump’s neo-Morgenthau plan for Ukraine is a threat to free Europe
