Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday, January 17, that he saw no reason for Europeans to take part in Ukraine truce talks, accusing them of wanting to “continue the war” in Ukraine.

Lavrov’s comments came ahead of a visit to Saudi Arabia to meet United States officials, and as European leaders convene in Paris for an emergency summit on Ukraine, amid alarm at Washington’s diplomatic outreach to Moscow.

“I don’t know what they would do at the negotiating table… if they are going to sit at the negotiating table with the aim of continuing war, then why invite them there?” Lavrov told a press conference in Moscow.

The veteran foreign minister said Europe “had its chance” at resolving the conflict from 2014 – when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula and backed pro-Russian armed separatists in the east – and that the bloc had failed.

The US has said that it wants both Russia and Ukraine to make concessions if ceasefire talks ever materialize. But Lavrov insisted that Moscow would not compromise on territory it has seized in eastern and southern Ukraine, saying there could not even be a “thought” of that during negotiations.

Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin’s diplomatic adviser, are due to fly to Riyadh on Monday for the US/Russia meeting, the Russian presidency said on Tuesday. “Secretary of State Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will meet with Russian delegation in Riyadh Tuesday,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

The talks between the US and Russian counterparts will be “devoted primarily to restoring the whole complex of Russian-American relations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He added that the talks will also “be dedicated to possible negotiations on a Ukrainian resolution, and organizing a meeting between the two presidents,” Peskov told reporters.

Germany said on Monday that the US and Russia should aim for a “durable peace” in the talks. “That there is direct contact between the Americans and the Russians is not a bad thing if it is about finding a way to a durable and lasting peace,” said a foreign ministry spokesman in Berlin.

Zelensky not aware of the talks

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky will also visit Saudi Arabia – on Wednesday, one day after the meeting between Russian and US officials, his spokesman told French news agency AFP. Zelensky announced the trip, which also includes stops in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, last week without giving dates, adding he had no plans to meet with Russian or US officials. Sergiy Nykyforov said Zelensky would visit Saudi Arabia with his wife as part of a “long-planned” official visit.

Zelensky said on Monday that he had held a “meaningful conversation with President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi”. The UAE has played an important role in facilitating the exchange of Russian and Ukrainian prisoners and Zelensky said its mediation had “saved many lives”. He also said the two sides had signed an economic cooperation document and discussed humanitarian issues.

Regarding the US/Russia talks, Zelensky said that Kyiv “did not know anything about” them, adding in comments carried by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency that the country “cannot recognize any things or any agreements about us without us. And we will not recognize such agreements.”