Kremlin confirms pause in Ukraine peace talks amid Middle East conflict

Ukrainian peace talks remain on a “situational pause” as conflict in the Middle East intensifies, the Kremlin said on Thursday, even as Kiev signaled talks could restart this weekend.

Following reports in the Russian media that the Kremlin had paused talks on Ukraine and that the conflict in the Middle East could push Kiev to compromise, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed this pause.

“This is a situational pause for obvious reasons,” Peskov told reporters when asked about the report, according to Reuters.

Peskov added that once “our American partners” can refocus on the Ukrainian conflict, Moscow hopes the pause will end and new talks can begin.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video published on X that Kiev had received signals from the United States that it was ready to restart negotiations aimed at ending the war.

“There has been a pause in the talks and now it is time to start again,” he said. “We’re doing everything to make sure the negotiations are really solid.”

Zelenskyy added that a Ukrainian negotiating team is already on its way to the United States and is expected to meet on Saturday.

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Firefighters extinguish a fire in the ruins of an apartment building following a Russian missile attack on Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said “hatred” between Russia and Ukraine was preventing a peace deal from being reached.

Speaking at the Inter-American Shield Summit held in Doral, Florida, Trump said, “The hatred between Putin and his counterpart is enormous.”

“It’s so great you’d think there would be some camaraderie in Ukraine and Russia. [but] no. And the hatred is so great. It’s very difficult for them to get there. It is very, very difficult to get there. “So we’ll see what happens,” Trump said. “But many times we got close and one or the other would back down.”

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U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands at a press conference following a meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 28, 2025. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Trump’s comments came after NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in January that Russia was losing 20,000 to 25,000 troops each month in its war against Ukraine.

The pause in talks comes as Ukraine is increasingly drawn into the broader Middle East conflict.

As the conflict in Iran enters its third week, Ukraine is providing technology and battlefield-tested tactics to counter Iranian drone attacks.

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While the United States and its Gulf partners have requested assistance from Ukraine, Kiev has signaled its readiness to share both systems and personnel to help defend against Iranian air threats.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman-Diamond and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report as well as Reuters.