Ukraine talks can't wait for end of Iran war, Zelenskyy says
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (Getty Images)
The war in Iran has diverted attention away from Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, as the United States is now primarily focused on it. As a result, deliveries of some key types of weapons to Kyiv have been disrupted, stated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with CNN.
He noted that while technical talks with the United States are ongoing, he does not "see the opportunity to meet … until the question, the case of Iran will be closed."
Zelenskyy said it is a "challenge" that the same US negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are handling talks on both the war in Iran and the war in Ukraine.
He added that while he understands Washington’s current focus on Iran, it is important not to forget about Ukraine, where fighting continues.
The Ukrainian President stressed that it is unacceptable to say, "We will speak about Ukraine a little bit later."
"Ukraine is not 'a little bit later.' Ukraine is already in such a big tragedy, we have to find a way to manage this in a parallel way," he emphasized.
Zelenskyy also said that the war in Iran has disrupted deliveries of certain key weapons to Ukraine, including interceptor missiles. According to him, Kyiv is not receiving enough of them due to limited production capacity in the United States.
Ukraine-Russia talks
On April 17, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Zelenskyy is ready to meet with the Russian leader if the presidents of the United States and Türkiye also take part in the talks.
Earlier in April, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said his country is ready to host the next round of peace talks between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia.
Recently, US Vice President JD Vance, commenting on the negotiation process to resolve the war in Ukraine, questioned the point of arguing over "a few square kilometres of territory."
Responding to Vance’s remarks, Zelenskyy noted that he is not involved in the trilateral talks. The President also stressed that one of Russia’s key goals has always been the occupation of Ukrainian territory in one form or another.
