“If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu”: The West used this saying to comment on Trump and Putin’s negotiations without Ukraine’s participation

U.S.-Russia talks on Ukraine without Kyiv’s participation speak volumes.

Military analyst Michael Clarke stated this in an interview with Sky News.

“There is an old saying in diplomatic circles: ‘If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.’ And believe me, Ukraine is on the menu,” he remarked.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted sharply to the suggestion that Ukraine is “on the menu” for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We are neither a salad nor a compote to be on Putin’s menu, no matter his appetite,” Zelensky said.

Military analyst Michael Clarke also commented on the agreement between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt strikes on energy infrastructure. He noted that this initiative is “not much different” from Kyiv’s proposal for a ceasefire at sea and in the air.