Zelenskyy, Vance expected to meet in Munich amid talks to end war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to meet with U.S. Vice President JD Vance at the yearly Munich Security Conference in Germany that started on Feb. 14. 

High-level meetings are foreseen between officials from the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Feb. 13, according to state-run Suspilne.

“They are having a meeting in Munich tomorrow (Feb. 14). Russia is going to be there with our people. Ukraine is also invited, by the way,” Trump said.

However, the presidential office if Kyiv rejected Trump’s statement, emphasizing that Ukraine must first hold talks with the U.S., and that Europe should be involved in any serious discussions to end the Russo-Ukrainian war.

“Only a coordinated joint position should be on the table when speaking with the Russians. No one meets with Russia at an empty table. Right now, there’s nothing on the table. No discussions with Russia are planned in Munich,” said Dmytro Lytvyn, Zelenskyy’s communications adviser.

In his remarks, Trump reassured that Ukraine would have a seat at the table in any peace negotiations aimed at ending Russia’s war, which is entering its fourth year this month. 

“They are part of it. We would have Ukraine, we would have Russia and other people will be involved as well,” he said, according to Ukrainska Pravda.

Additionally, Trump announced that U.S., Russian, and Ukrainian envoys would meet in Saudi Arabia “next week.” 

“There’s a meeting in Munich. Then, next week, there’s a meeting in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

However, Zelenskyy stated on Feb. 14 that he was unaware of such a meeting. 

“I will have an official visit to Saudi Arabia, but I won’t be meeting with Russia or America there,” he said during a conversation with journalists at the 61st Munich Security Conference.

Earlier, Zelenskyy made it clear that Ukraine would not accept “any agreements without us.”

Washington may consider strengthening sanctions against Russia if it refuses to accept a peace deal that ensures Ukraine’s long-term independence, Vance said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

“There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage,” he added.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Trump seeks not only a ceasefire but the complete end of the war in Ukraine. He pointed out that Europe must guarantee Ukraine’s security.

“That’s going to have to be the Europeans who have to be willing to step up and do that and – but there’s a lot of sensitive issues to talk about: territorial claims, arms control and things of that nature, language and cultural matters, all that is going to have to be worked through,” Rubio said.