US sees path to Ukraine-Russia talks despite Iran war — Bloomberg
Photo: Talks between Ukraine, the US, and Russia in Geneva (facebook.com/rustemumerov.ua)
The US believes negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are possible, despite Washington’s shifting focus on the Middle East, according to Bloomberg.
A source at the agency familiar with the discussions said that Washington has not ruled out a new round of talks between Kyiv and Moscow.
"The US told allies last week that it still believes it can bring Russia and Ukraine to the table, though there’s no movement for now and the sides remain far apart," the source tells the agency.
At the same time, Bloomberg notes that US officials acknowledge that the positions of the parties to the conflict remain far apart.
Peace negotiations in Ukraine
In 2026, Ukraine, with US mediation, had already held several rounds of negotiations with Russia. The parties have been unable to reach an agreement on a ceasefire itself, as Russia wants the surrender of the unoccupied Donbas, which Kyiv refuses to accept.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected any exchange of Donbas territory for other regions. He emphasized that Russia understood it would be able to hold onto the border territories, and the time would come when the Ukrainian Armed Forces would drive the Russian troops out of there.
In addition, the Ukrainian President stressed that during future negotiations, it was necessary to agree on a meeting at the leadership level, since it is only in this format that a decision on the territorial issue can be reached.
On March 25, Zelenskyy stated that the US had set a condition under which Ukraine must withdraw its troops from Donbas to receive security guarantees.
According to the President of Ukraine, Washington was ready to finalize these guarantees at the highest level as soon as Kyiv is ready to take this step. Zelenskyy warned that this would jeopardize the security of both Ukraine and Europe.
Later, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Zelenskyy’s statement a lie. According to him, Washington did not impose any conditions on Ukraine regarding the withdrawal of troops.
