US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that Saudi Arabia will host a meeting next week between senior officials from the United States, Russia and Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said US and Russian officials would meet in Munich on Friday and that Ukraine was also invited.
"Tomorrow there's a meeting in Munich and then next week, there's a meeting in Saudi Arabia, not with myself or President Vladimir Putin, but with top officials. And Ukraine will be a part of it too," he revealed.
He stressed that Ukraine would have a seat at the table during any peace negotiations with Russia over ending the war.
"They're part of it. We would have Ukraine, and we have Russia, and we'll have other people involved, a lot of people,” Trump added.
Asked whether he trusts Putin, he said: "I believe that he would like to see something happen. I trust him on this subject."
An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, however, said Kyiv does not expect to hold talks with the Russian side at the annual Munich Security Conference on Friday, and believes the US, Europe and Ukraine need a common position before talks with Moscow.
"We, as a sovereign country, simply will not be able to accept any agreements without us," Zelenskiy said.
Russia's financial markets soared and the price of Ukraine's debt rose at the prospect of the first talks in years to end Europe's deadliest war since World War Two.
Ukraine would "of course" participate in peace talks in some way, but there would also be a bilateral negotiation track between the United States and Russia, said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed "the need for bold diplomacy" to end the war in a call with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, the State Department said.
Trump's unilateral overture to Putin on Wednesday, accompanied by apparent concessions on Ukraine's principal demands, raised alarm for both Kyiv and the European allies in NATO who said they feared the White House might make a deal without them.
Kremlin spokesman Peskov said Moscow was "impressed" by Trump's willingness to seek a settlement.
He also said it could take up to several months to arrange a meeting between Putin and Trump, possibly in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
The two leaders spoke on Wednesday and announced their intention to meet face-to-face, shortly after Trump's defense secretary bluntly told allies that Washington did not support NATO membership for Ukraine and that it was an illusion to believe that Ukraine - a fifth of which is controlled by Russia - could return to its pre-war borders.
Peskov told Russian state TV in an interview: "One way or another, of course, Ukraine will participate in the negotiations."
He added: "There will be a bilateral Russian-American track of this dialogue, and a track that will be related to Ukraine's involvement."
His comments were unlikely to reassure Kyiv or allay the concerns of European governments that are demanding a place at the table, fearful that Moscow and Washington could otherwise cut a deal that undermines their security.
"Any agreement without us will fail, because you need Europe and Ukraine to also implement the agreement," European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. "Any quick fix is a dirty deal."
