Ukraine latest: U.S. and Russian officials meet in Saudi Arabia for peace talks as Europe at odds over troops plan

Volodymyr Zelensky has slammed the United States for trying to ‘please’ Vladimir Putin so they can get a ‘quick win’ in talks with Moscow on Ukraine – the outcome of which Kyiv has said it will not accept.

Reacting to conciliatory comments towards Russia by US officials, Zelensky said: ‘The US is now saying things that are very favourable to Putin… because they want to please him.’

‘They want to meet quickly and have a quick win. But what they want – ‘just a ceasefire’ – is not a win,’ he added, according to a translation provided by broadcaster ARD of an interview recorded Saturday in Munich.

‘We [Ukraine] will not sign just anything in order to be applauded… the fate of our state for generations to come [is at stake].’

• Read Elena Salvoni’s full report here

Let’s take a look at the current top story on MailOnline after European leaders met in Paris yesterday

Keir Starmer’s rallying cry for Europe to ‘step up’ and deploy peacekeeping troops to Ukraine was last night rejected by Germany at a dramatic summit in Paris.

European leaders are in chaos over President Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine, amid fears he will withdraw his military support for the continent and abandon the Baltic states to Putin.

Starmer has called for the US to provide a ‘backstop’ for any deal in Ukraine, and European leaders appear to be panicking over the prospect of confronting Putin without American militry might.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz left the crisis summit in Paris between European leaders early last night and a ‘little irritated’ labelling the premier’s calls as ‘highly inappropriate’.

• Read Matt Strudwick’s report here

Vladimir Putin’s chief foreign adviser Yuri Ushakov told state media the talks would discuss ‘how to start negotiations on Ukraine.’

Both Ukraine and Russia have ruled out territorial concessions and Putin last year demanded Kyiv withdraw its troops from even more territory.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Turkey today for discussions on the conflict with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He is due in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after travelling to the United Arab Emirates on Monday (pictured).

He does not plan to hold talks with either the US or Russian delegations, his spokesman said.

Zelensky said last week he was prepared to meet Putin, but only after Kyiv and its allies had a common position on ending the war.

Here are some pictures of the meeting between U.S. and Russian officials in Riyadh.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading the American delegation, while Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is representing the Kremlin.

Lavrov, right, sits next to Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov

L to R: US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Marco Rubio, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz

The talks have taken place at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh

Diriyah Palace sits across the street from Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter.

It is also just next to the Ritz Carlton hotel, which became well known in 2017 after de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman detained other princes and the country’s elite there as part of what the royal court called a crackdown on corruption, which also sidelined any potential challenge to his taking control of the kingdom.

Hosting the talks is a major step towards a goal Prince Mohammed has pursued throughout the war – putting the kingdom in the middle of diplomatic negotiations.

Ahead of the summit, the Saudi daily newspaper Okaz described the moment as the “world’s eye on Riyadh”.

It has helped in prisoner negotiations and hosted Mr Zelensky for an Arab League summit in the kingdom in 2023.

Mr Zelensky said he would travel to Saudi Arabia tomorrow

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and Mr Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov arrived in the Saudi capital on Monday.

Mr Ushakov said the talks would be ‘purely bilateral’ and would not include Ukrainian officials.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet the Russian delegation, state department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.

The talks mark a significant expansion of US-Russian contacts, nearly three years into a war that has seen ties fall to the lowest level in decades.

Ahead of the talks, Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, who the Kremlin said might join the meeting, underscored the importance of the meeting in comments to The Associated Press.

Good US-Russia relations are very important for the whole world. Only jointly can Russia and the US address lots of world problems, resolve for global conflicts and offer solutions.

The Saudi-owned satellite channel Al Arabiya, citing the Russian delegation, described Moscow’s priority as ‘real normalisation with Washington’.

Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage as U.S. and Russian officials meet to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.

Senior American and Russian officials are holding talks in Saudi Arabia today.

The meeting at the Diriyah Palace in Riyadh marks another pivotal step by the Trump administration to reverse US policy on isolating Russia and is meant to pave the way for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr Trump earlier this month upended US policy towards Ukraine and Russia by saying he and Mr Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the war.

Ukrainian officials are not taking part in the meeting, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that his country will not accept the outcome if Kyiv does not take part.

Stick with us for the latest updates throughout the day.