Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to talk to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "if necessary", Kremlin said on Tuesday, adding that he again questioned his legitimacy as Ukrainian president. 

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"Putin himself said that he would be ready to negotiate with Zelensky if necessary, but the legal basis of agreements needs discussion considering the reality that Zelensky's legitimacy can be questioned," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

This comes as top US and Russian officials have gathered to hold meetings in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss the Ukraine war. However, Kyiv is absent from the meeting. 

US President Donald Trump held a telephone conversation with Putin last week. 

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However, Zelensky has stressed that Ukraine would not recognise "any agreements about us without us". 

Ukraine has 'right' to join EU, but not NATO 

Kremlin further said that Ukraine had the "sovereign right" to join the European Union, adding that Russia did not intend to dictate how they should approach. 

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Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, "With regard to Ukraine joining the EU, it is the sovereign right of any country."

"But it is completely different when it comes to security issues and military alliances. Here we have a different approach that is well known," Peskov added. 

Saudi Arabia becomes a dealmaker as it is hosting breakthrough US-Russia talks with the two sides expected to discuss ways to end the conflict in Ukraine and restore American-Russian relations. 

Earlier in the day, Zelensky said Kyiv was not invited to the discussions in Riyadh. He added that Kyiv "did not know anything about" the talks in Riyadh, according to Ukrainian news agencies, and that it "cannot recognise any things or any agreements about us without us".

He said on social media that any peace deal would need to include "robust and reliable" security guarantees, which France and Britain have called for but not all European powers support.

(With inputs from agencies)