Kyiv Denies Claims of Planned Talks With Russia at Munich Conference

Ukraine has ruled out participating in talks with Russian officials at the upcoming Munich Security Conference, despite a claim by US President Donald Trump.

Dmytro Lytvyn, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, told reporters Thursday that no such discussions were planned.

“A common position [with allies] must be on the table for a conversation with the Russians. For the moment there is nothing on the table. Discussions with the Russians are not envisaged,” Lytvyn said.

“The Ukrainian position remains unchanged. Ukraine must first speak with America. Europe must participate in any serious discussion on a real and sustainable peace,” he added.

Trump, speaking in Washington on Thursday, had announced a meeting in Munich on Friday, claiming it would include “high-level people” from Russia, Ukraine, and the United States.

“They are having a meeting in Munich tomorrow. Russia is going to be there with our people. Ukraine is also invited... not sure exactly who’s going to be there from any country, but high-level people from Russia, from Ukraine, and from the United States,” Trump told reporters.

However, no further details were provided by the White House, and Russia has yet to comment.

As of now, it has been confirmed that Zelensky is set to meet with US Vice President JD Vance at the conference, which begins on Friday.

Other Topics of Interest

Riyadh Talks Were More About Replacing Zelensky Rather Than Peace

Tuesday’s meeting between US and Russian diplomats in Saudi Arabia’s capital was ostensibly to prepare the ground for developing a “peace plan” for Ukraine despite Kyiv’s absence.

Other members expected to attend as part of the US delegation include Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ukraine-Russia envoy Keith Kellogg, conference chair Christoph Heusgen said in a Berlin press conference on Monday.

Officials in Washington, Kyiv, and Moscow have ramped up discussions on ending the war in recent days, as Trump intensifies efforts to fulfill his pledge of resolving the conflict within his first 100 days in office.

On Feb. 12, Trump held separate calls with Zelensky and Putin, later claiming both leaders “want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine.”

Zelensky confirmed shortly after Trump’s announcement that the call with Putin took place, adding in an X post shared about two hours later that he had his own “long and detailed” call with Trump following the Kremlin chat.

“We discussed many aspects – diplomatic, military, and economic – and President Trump informed me about what Putin told him,” Zelensky wrote.

The next day, Zelensky described it as “not very pleasant” that US President Donald Trump phoned Russian leader Vladimir Putin first before him, while he was under the assumption that Trump wished to talk to both together.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitriy Peskov, said on Thursday, Feb. 13, that “preparations for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia have already begun” after Wednesday’s phone call between Trump and Putin.