Ukraine still expects Russia talks this week: Zelenskiy
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that the new round of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, mediated by the USA, planned to be held this week, was not canceled after the attacks on Iran by the USA and Israel over the weekend.
The Ukrainian president said Kiev was considering a new location for talks scheduled for March 5 and 6 in Abu Dhabi, and Türkiye or Switzerland were possibilities.
“We cannot confirm that the meeting will take place in Abu Dhabi due to ongoing hostilities, but still no one has canceled the meeting,” he told reporters during a briefing on WhatsApp. he said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that it was in Russia’s interest to continue peace talks with Ukraine and that Moscow’s preference was still to reach a diplomatic agreement that would end the four-year war.
US President Donald Trump is pressuring both Kiev and Moscow to find a way to end the conflict. However, despite the talks held in Abu Dhabi, Istanbul and Geneva, no progress was made on key issues.
Zelenskiy reiterated Moscow’s refusal to comply with Ukraine’s demand that it withdraw from the remaining 20 percent of the eastern Donetsk region that Russia has not captured. Zelenskiy said that Ukraine’s position, which survived the critical cold winter months and maintained its resilience despite intense Russian drone and missile attacks on its energy infrastructure, has strengthened.
Zelenskiy said that hostilities in the Middle East have so far had no impact on allies’ arms supplies to Ukraine: “But of course we understand that a long war (if it will be long) and the intensity of the conflict will affect the amount of air defense equipment we receive.”
He said that Russia was preparing a new wave of attacks on infrastructure, logistics and water supplies, adding that ensuring sufficient deliveries of air defense weaponry remained a key challenge for Kyiv. He stated that Ukraine is ready to share its experience in the field of air defense, but for now there is no direct request from the UK or other partners in this direction.
