US and russia were against Ukraine's presence at talks in Saudi Arabia – Bloomberg

The American side and representatives of the aggressor country russia did not want to see Ukraine at the negotiating table in Saudi Arabia.

Bloomberg reported this on Tuesday, February 18, citing a source close to the process.

The publication writes that “seismic shift” has occurred in U.S. diplomacy after President Donald Trump's conversation with russian dictator putin, as the Ukrainian President was excluded from the talks, which could affect the survival of the nation. According to Bloomberg, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman wanted Zelenskyy to be at the talks between russia and the U.S.

"Prince Mohammed had wanted Zelenskyy to be represented at the talks but both the Americans and the Russians had insisted that they wanted to meet without the Ukrainians. MBS, as the de facto Saudi ruler is known, was planning to brief the Ukrainian president on the kingdom’s role in convening the talks as well as his discussions with Russian and US officials,” a source told Bloomberg.

At the same time, former U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken considers this "diplomatic snub" serious.

"If you’re not at the table in the international system, you’re going to be on the menu," Blinken said.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on February 18, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy postponed his visit to Saudi Arabia to March 10.

As we will recall, on February 16, the BBC stated that Ukrainian representatives had not received an invitation to a meeting of high-ranking officials from the United States and the aggressor country russia in Saudi Arabia.