Volodymyr Zelensky will be forced to hold elections which could see him lose office under a provisional agreement between the US and Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met in the Saudi capital Riyadh where they discussed ways of ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
Both sides agreed on Tuesday (February 18) that Ukrainians should go to the polls before a final peace deal is struck, raising fears Moscow will exploit the vote to install a pro-Putin candidate who would push for terms which favour Russia.
The meeting came just a week after US President Donald Trump spoke to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin by phone.
Mr Trump last night showed little patience for Ukraine’s objections to being excluded from the talks in Saudi Arabia. He said repeatedly that Ukraine’s leaders never should have allowed the conflict to begin, suggesting Kyiv should have been willing to make concessions to Russia before it sent troops into Ukraine in 2022.
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