ALI: GOOD EVENING.

I'M ALI ROGIN.

JOHN YANG IS AWAY.

AS THE MUNICH SECURITY CONFERENCE WRAPPED UP TODAY, AMERICAN OFFICIALS PREPARED TO BEGIN TALKS WITH RUSSIA OVER ENDING THE WAR IN UKRAINE.

THOSE DISCUSSIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BEGIN IN THE COMING DAYS IN SAUDI ARABIA.

MEANWHILE, EUROPE'S LEADERS ARE PREPARING TO CONVENE AN EMERGENCY MEETING IN PARIS ON MONDAY IN RESPONSE TO BEING SHUT OUT OF EARLY NEGOTIATIONS.

THERE'S ALSO NO CLEAR INDICATION YET THAT KYIV WILL BE INVOLVED AT THOSE TALKS EITHER.

UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY TOLD NBC'S MEET THE PRESS TODAY THAT HIS COUNTRY WOULD NEVER ACCEPT A DEAL STRUCK JUST BETWEEN MOSCOW AND WASHINGTON.

HE ALSO SAID SURRENDERING ANY UKRAINIAN LAND IS OFF THE TABLE.

PRES.

ZELENSKYY: WE WILL NEVER DO IT.

IT'S NOT ABOUT IT'S NOT ABOUT ANY NEGOTIATIONS.

WE WILL NEVER SPEAK ABOUT IT.

>> EVEN CRIMEA?

YOU SEEM TO HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED PRES.

ZELENSKYY: EVEN CRIMEA.

WE WILL NEVER RECOGNIZE IT.

BECAUSE IN YEARS IN YEARS, ALL THINGS, ALL THINGS WHICH ARE UKRAINIAN WILL BE UKRAINIAN.

ALI: KURT VOLKER SERVED UNDER THE FIRST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AND WAS THE U.S.

AMBASSADOR TO NATO UNDER RESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH.

THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US.

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THESE TALKS IN SAUDI ARABIA, GIVEN NEITHER UKRAINE OR EUROPEAN REPRESENTATIVES ARE INVITED TO ATTEND?

KURT: FIRST OFF, WE HAVE HAD BILATERAL MEETINGS WITH RUSSIA, YOUR CRANE MEANS -- UKRAINIANS, EUROPEANS ALL THEIT IS NOT OUTS.

WE JUST HAD THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE AT NATO AND SECRETARY OF STATE MEETING WITH ALLIES.

WE HAVE PRESIDENT TRUMP CALLING PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY.

JD VANCE MET WITH PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY.

IT IS ABOUT GETTING THE RUSSIANS TO THE TABLE TO ENGAGE THEM IN THE PROCESS TO TRY TO STOP THE WAR READ THERE IS NO PROCESS AT THE MOMENT OR ANY TABLE ANYONE IS EXCLUDED FROM.

IT IS ABOUT TRYING TO GET THE RUSSIANS TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN DOING THE LAST THREE YEARS.

ALI: I HEAR YOU SAYING THIS IS NOTHING NEW, BUT THE RHETORIC OUT OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SEEMS TO BE TRYING TO PUSH THE ENVELOPE FORWARD SAYING, NOW IS THE TIME TO INITIATE A FORMAL PEACE PROCESS.

THEY SEEM TO BE FRAMING THESE TALKS AS THE BEGINNING OF THAT PROCESS.

DO YOU NOT SEE IT THAT WAY?

KURT: I DON'T, NO.

YOU HAD A PHONE CALL BETWEEN PUTIN AND TROMP FOLLOWED UP BY RUBIO AND THEYTEED UPSO FAR THT BY RUSSIA TO EVEN CONSIDER STOPPING WAR.

THIS IS AN EFFORT TO GET THEM INTO A PROCESS.

AS THIS EVOLVES I'M NOT SURE THERE WILL BE A SINGLE TABLE.

I DON'T NECESSARILY SEE THERE WILL BE A CONFERENCE HALL IN VIENNA WHERE EVERYBODY SITS DOWN AND NEGOTIATES.

I THINK IT WILL BE A COMBINATION OF PRESSURE, MAY BE INCENTIVES, PHONE CALLS BETWEEN LEADERS, ENGAGEMENT AMONG LEADERS, AND VARIOUS MEETINGS WE ENGAGE IN.

I THINK THAT IS A MORE REALISTIC SET OF EXPECTATIONS THAN ONE FORMAL NEGOTIATING PROCESS.

ALI: QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MAKEUP OF THE TABLE ASIDE, DO THINK PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY OF UKRAINE HAS THE SAME LEVERAGE NOW THAT HE MAY HAVE HAD IF, FOR EXAMPLE, WE WOULD HAVE ENTERED INTO THIS PHASE UNDER THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION?

KURT: LEVERAGES THE WRONG WORD IN THE CASE OF PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY.

HE IS FIGHTING THE RIGHT FIGHT.

HE IS DEFENDING HIS COUNTRY, DEFENDING EUROPE.

HE IS THE VICTIM OF EXTERNAL AGGRESSION.

EVERYONE KNOWS THAT.

THE U.S. AND EUROPE HAVE HELPED HIM FOR A LONG TIME.

BUT THE REALITY IS, THIS WAR DID NOT END OVER THREE YEARS.

RUSSIA CONTINUES ITS ATTACKS.

WHAT PRESIDENT TRUMP IS TRYING TO DO AS I SEE IT, IS ENGAGE WITH RUSSIA BECAUSE RUSSIA IS THE PROBLEM.

RUSSIA HAS TO AGREE TO STOP THE WAR.

IN TERMS OF HOW WE PLAY THIS, I DO THINK WHAT YOU JUST PLAYED THE CLIP FROM PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY, CEDING TERRITORY TO RUSSIA WOULD BE A MISTAKE HERE WOULD HE SAID WE WILL NEVER RECOGNIZE IT AND THAT IS THE KEY POINT.

WE MAY HAVE TO REALIZE THERE IS NO MILITARY WAY TO RECOVER ALL THE UKRAINIAN TERRITORY RIGHT NOW.

WE MAY END UP WITH A SITUATION IT IS NOT RECOGNIZED, IT IS RECKONED -- RUSSIAN OCCUPATION, BUT WE RETURN IT BY OTHER MEANS.

MEANWHILE WE GET A PAUSE IN FIGHTING SO PEOPLE STOP DYING.

I THINK THAT IS WHERE PRESIDENT TRUMP IS TRYING TO DRIVE THIS.

ALI: WE WILL LEAVE IT THERE.

KURT VOLKER, FORMER US SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR UKRAINE NEGOTIATIONS UNDER THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

KURT: THANK YOU.