Ukraine–US–Russia talks on hold, officials say
Photo: Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Trilateral talks between Ukraine, the US, and Russia aimed at ending the war have been postponed for now. They have not been canceled, but have been delayed due to the situation in the Middle East, according to Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
What Ukraine says
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Georgiy Tykhyi cited a statement by the Ukrainian President and confirmed that, indeed, the war against Iran is negatively affecting the Ukraine-Russia-US negotiation track.
"I can only confirm this here. The next trilateral Ukraine-Russia-US consultations have already been postponed several times. And as of now, they have been postponed again. That is, they haven’t been abandoned or canceled. They’ve simply been postponed. So there’s no need to look for any hidden agenda here, so to speak," Tykhyi explains at a briefing.
He notes that the US is currently fully focused on the Middle East. This is precisely why the negotiation track is on hold. At the same time, the teams communicate with each other daily, so working-level contact is ongoing. However, the problem is that to move the process forward, meetings are needed—and ideally, a meeting of leaders.
"We continue to maintain the position that a meeting of leaders could unblock the process and achieve a breakthrough in the peace process. Unfortunately, we have not seen, and continue not to see, any readiness on the Russian side for such a meeting of leaders. And in general, we do not see any readiness on Russia’s part for diplomacy. We see a reliance on war, on an attempt to achieve its goals by military means. Although achieving them by military means will not succeed. This is already clear from the battlefield," emphasizes the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In summary, he adds that if there is new information regarding agreements on a new round of talks, it will certainly be reported.
What Russia says
On the evening of March 18, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov commented on the negotiations to Russian media. According to him, the process is currently on hold.
"The trilateral group is on hold," he said.
At the same time, Peskov added that Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev continues to work within the framework of the bilateral working group between Russia and the United States.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin also stated that no specific date or location for a new meeting has been set yet. Furthermore, the agenda has not been finalized. According to him, the territorial issue remains one of the main concerns.
Peace process on the verge of collapse, but there is hope for success
Just last night, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in an interview with the BBC that he had a very bad feeling about the new round of peace talks with Russia. His concern stems from the fact that the US has shifted its focus from Ukraine to the war in Iran.
Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated that Istanbul was ready to host a new round of trilateral talks between Ukraine, the US, and Russia.
Politico also recently revealed an article stating that the Trump administration will continue negotiations with Russia in an attempt to achieve peace in Ukraine, as this process and its outcome have a longer-term goal, namely, weakening the alliance between Russia and China.
