Due to the U.S. war in Iran: The Kremlin announced a “pause” in negotiations with Ukraine
7 April 14:18
Russia and Ukraine are temporarily not negotiating an end to the war because the United States, which is acting as a mediator, is preoccupied with a military operation against Iran, said Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Russian dictator.
This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian", citing Russian propaganda media.
“As for the negotiation process—yes, it is on hold for now. The Americans have a lot of other things on their plate, and it’s clear what those are. Right now, because of this, it’s difficult to convene in a trilateral format,” he explained.
At the same time, Peskov noted that both Russia and Ukraine continue to exchange information with the U.S.
He was also asked whether a visit to Kyiv by White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner after Easter could revive the negotiation process. Peskov replied that he “does not know for certain” whether such a trip is planned.
The Kremlin is demanding that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy immediately surrender Donbas in order to “stop the hot phase of the war.” The Ukrainian leader himself reported that Russia had issued an ultimatum: if the Ukrainian Armed Forces do not withdraw from the Donetsk region by summer, the region will be seized, and the terms of peace will become harsher. At the same time, Zelenskyy noted that, in his opinion, Putin’s army is incapable of carrying out a military scenario.
The latest round of trilateral talks took place in Geneva on February 17–18 and ended in a stalemate, with Russia even threatening to withdraw from the peace process if Ukraine refused to surrender Donbas, Bloomberg sources reported. The next meeting, scheduled for March 5 in Abu Dhabi, was postponed due to hostilities in the Middle East, and a new date has not yet been set.
In mid-March, Financial Times sources noted that the peace process regarding Ukraine had effectively stalled, and negotiations “were in serious jeopardy” because the U.S. had shifted its focus to Iran. A high-ranking European official told the publication that President Donald Trump had begun to lose interest in mediation, and that the war in the Middle East had not only failed to ease pressure on Russia but had even benefited the Kremlin due to rising oil prices and the suspension of U.S. sanctions.
Against this backdrop, Putin has ordered the army to prepare a new offensive on the front lines, according to Bloomberg sources familiar with discussions in the Kremlin. According to one of the agency’s sources, in the absence of a breakthrough in negotiations, the war could last another year or two.
