Zelenskyy Announces Ukraine‑US Peace Talks with Russia Delayed Amid Iran Crisis

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that a meeting with US representatives proposed for this week has been postponed because partners are focused on the situation around Iran.

The statement was made on his official social media pages on March 9.

Trilateral negotiations are set to resume after a nearly month-long pause. Delegations from Ukraine, the United States, and Russia have tentatively agreed to meet on March 11, in Istanbul, Turkey.

Zelenskyy wrote that Ukraine is ready to meet “at any moment in the format that can help and that will be realistic from the point of view of ending the war,” adding that Kyiv is “effectively” in contact with the US side “24/7.”

He also added that Ukraine’s negotiating team briefed him on Russian plans, based largely on information gathered by Ukrainian intelligence.

Zelenskyy instructed the team to again contact US negotiators to confirm Kyiv’s readiness for strategic joint work on security, including protection against attack drones.

The President also warned that Russia is trying to manipulate the situation in the Middle East and the Gulf region to support its aggression.

He wrote that Moscow is seeking to turn Iranian strikes on neighboring countries and US bases into “a second front” in Russia’s war against Ukraine and, more broadly, against the West.

Zelenskyy previously stated that Ukraine had instructed its team to reiterate to US negotiators that Kyiv is ready for “strategic joint work for the sake of security,” including cooperation on protection against attack drones, while also confirming its readiness to work substantively to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Ukraine asked the US to postpone the next round of trilateral peace talks with Russia and reconsider the venue, arguing that global focus and security calculations have shifted because of the escalating war in the Middle East.

Zelenskyy said the meeting had been tentatively planned for March 5–9, but the timetable depended on broader developments, and he floated alternatives such as Turkey or Switzerland instead of Abu Dhabi.

Despite seeking a delay, Zelenskyy said Kyiv still wants humanitarian steps to proceed, including a previously discussed prisoner exchange, even if high-level negotiations are pushed back for now.