Zelenskyy ‘will not accept’ any agreements that do not include Ukraine in talks

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine speaks to the press during a media briefing on the territory of Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine (Alex Babenko/AP)

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he will not accept any agreements about Ukraine that do not include his country in talks, following a call between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.

In his first comments to journalists since US President Donald Trump held individual calls first with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and then Mr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian leader said the main thing was to “not allow everything to go according to Putin’s plan”.

“We cannot accept it, as an independent country, any agreements (made) without us,” Mr Zelenskyy said as he visited a nuclear power station in western Ukraine.

“I articulate this very clearly to our partners. Any bilateral negotiations about Ukraine, not on other topics, but any bilateral talks about Ukraine without us, we will not accept.”