DONALD Trump’s secretary of state is set to meet with Russian officials to begin peace talks on Ukraine.
But Kyiv is not understood to have been invited to the meeting in Saudi Arabia as they try to thrash out a plan to end the almost three-year war.
It comes just days after Donald Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin on the phone about brokering a peace deal and ordered top officials to begin negotiations.
Trump repeatedly vowed to end Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine during his presidential campaign.
But Zelensky has insisted his nation would never accept any peace deals reached without Kyiv’s involvement.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has jetted to Saudi is expected to meet with Putin’s negotiators tomorrow.
Keith Kellogg, the US special envoy to Ukraine, said Kyiv would be involved in talks in Saudi.
But a senior Ukrainian government source told the BBC no delegation would be present.
The talks will be among the first high-level in-person discussions in years between Russian and US officials.
They will involve Rubio and Russian officials, as well as Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz and White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
And Russia’s sovereign wealth fund chief Kirill Dmitriev will meet a US delegation in Saudi on Tuesday to focus on strengthening ties and increased economic cooperation, a source in Riyadh told Reuters.
The meeting involving Dmitriev is the first confirmation that the U.S.-educated former Goldman Sachs banker will be involved in talks with the United States.
Discussions are expected to precede a meeting between the US and Russian presidents.
Rubio on Sunday said the coming weeks and days would determine whether Putin is serious about making peace.
Zelensky is also in the region, having arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday.
He said he had no plans to meet Russian or US officials and Ukraine is not believed to be invited to the Saudi-hosted talks.
European leaders have also not been invited to today’s talks – and are instead meeting at a hastily arranged summit in Paris.
Rubio on Sunday claimed Ukraine and Europe would be part of any “real negotiations” to end Moscow’s war.
Keir Starmer is among leaders heading to France for a last-minute crisis meeting amid fears the UK and its allies may be shut out of negotiations.
French president Emmanual Macron said they would address the “situation in Ukraine” and “security in Europe”.
Sir Keir has said he is prepared to put “our own troops on the ground if necessary” in Ukraine if there is a deal to end the war.
The British PM said he is “ready and willing” to put British troops into a peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
He wrote in the Telegraph that the UK was “ready to play a leading role” in Kyiv’s security and defence by committing £3bn a year until 2030.
But Zelensky has warned Putin “does not want peace” and is “not preparing for dialogue”.
He said: “I believe in Europe. I urge you to act for your own sake, for your nations, your houses, your children, for our shared future.
“We need confidence in our own strength so that other people respect European power. I believe the time has come to create an Armed Forces of Europe.”
He said all European nations must rearm and prepare for war.
Mr Zelensky added: “Money alone will not stop an enemy assault. It is not just about budgets, it is about people realising they need to defend their own home.”
He revealed Ukraine had clear intelligence Russia plans, this year, to send troops to puppet state Belarus.
And he asked the Munich Security Conference: “Will this force attack Ukraine? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe they’ll attack you.
“And what about your armies — are they ready? How fast will they respond? And will they respond at all?”
