Zelensky on Tuesday said efforts to end the war must involve European nations, Turkey and the United Kingdom, and must include Ukrainian negotiators to ensure a "fair" negotiations process, France 24 reported.
"Ukraine, Europe in a broad sense, and this includes the European Union, Turkey and the U.K., should be involved in conversations and the development of the necessary security guarantees with America regarding the fate of our part of the world," Zelensky said.
He criticized preliminary peace talks between the United States and Russia in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to end the war that began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Zelensky met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, Turkey, on Tuesday to open a new Ukrainian Embassy and discuss possible prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and Russia and other matters, the Kyiv Post reported.
Turkey is a member of NATO and has continued its diplomatic ties with Ukraine and Russia during the Ukraine war.
Turkey also has supplied Ukraine with drones while Erdogan has acted as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia, including negotiating prior prisoner exchanges between the two combatants.
Following Tuesday's talks with Erdogan, Zelensky was scheduled to travel to Riyadh on Wednesday for matters unrelated to the talks between the United States and Russia.
He postponed the trip to Riyadh to March 10 and said he was not invited to participate in the Riyadh peace talks.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met in Riyadh on Tuesday as officials in the Kremlin attempt to re-establish diplomatic ties with the United States.
The meeting between Rubio and Lavrov has raised concerns with Zelensky and leaders in Europe regarding the potential for the United States and Russia concluding a deal to end the war in Ukraine without input from Ukrainian officials or the European Union.
The concerns largely are focused on the possibility of President Donald Trump forcing Ukraine to end the war on terms established by Russian President Vladimir Putin and others in the Kremlin.
Erdogan said Turkey is the ideal location for peace talks and previously hosted talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials in Istanbul weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine.
"Turkey will be an ideal host for the possible talks between Russia, Ukraine and America in the near future," Erdogan said, adding that the prior talks in Istanbul so far have come the closest to ending the war.
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