KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in comments released Sunday that he was ready for the next round of trilateral peace talks to end Russia’s more than four-year-old invasion of Ukraine, but that it was up to Washington and Moscow to agree on where and when to meet.
Zelensky said the U.S. had proposed hosting the next meeting among American, Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams, which include U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, but Moscow had refused to send a delegation.
“We are waiting for a response from the Americans. Either they will change the country where we meet, or the Russians must confirm the U.S.,” Zelensky said in a media briefing Saturday. “We are not blocking any of these initiatives. We want a trilateral meeting to take place.”
The U.S. has postponed its sponsored talks between the two sides due to its war in the Middle East. The Iran war, which erupted Feb. 28 after U.S.-Israeli strikes on the country and spread across the region, has drawn the international spotlight away from Ukraine’s plight as it strives to hold back Russia’s bigger army.
Speaking to journalists, Zelensky also warned of a “very high” risk that the Iran war could drain the U.S. air defense stockpiles Ukraine depends on to counter Russian missile strikes.
Zelensky said he lacked a clear picture of available stockpiles and had discussed with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday whether SAMP/T systems could serve as an alternative to U.S.-made Patriot batteries for intercepting ballistic missiles. He said Ukraine would be “first in line” to test any viable alternative.
U.S. requested Ukrainian drone assistance
He also appeared to contradict President Trump’s recent assertion that the United States has no need for Ukrainian drone technology.
“No, we don’t need their help on drone defense,” Trump said in a Fox News Radio interview that aired Friday.
Zelensky said Washington had reached out to Ukraine “several times” to request assistance for a particular country or for support for Americans, without giving specifics. He said the requests had come from various U.S. military institutions to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense and other military leaders.
“All our institutions received these requests, and we responded to them,” Zelensky said.
He said he had offered the U.S. a defense cooperation deal last year worth $35 billion to $50 billion that would have given the Trump administration access to technology from roughly 200 Ukrainian drone, AI and electronic warfare firms, with half of all production earmarked for partners, primarily the U.S.
According to the Ukrainian leader, American military officials had expressed strong interest in the proposal, and Trump had indicated he was receptive.
“We received a message from them, and directly from the president as well, that they are interested,” Zelensky told reporters. “We did not sign the document with President Trump. I do not have an answer as to why. Perhaps it will happen later, but I am not sure.”
Zelensky warns of ‘blackmail’ over oil transit
With regard to reopening the Druzhba pipeline, which until late January transported Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, Zelensky said he was against allowing Russian oil to transit through Ukraine while the EU imposes sanctions on its sale elsewhere.
“Why can we, in one case, tell the United States that we oppose lifting sanctions, while on the other hand forcing Ukraine to resume oil transit through Druzhba — and at a political price that effectively pays for anti-European policies?” Zelensky said. The U.S. has temporarily eased some sanctions on Russian oil shipments, reflecting global concerns over sharply higher crude prices due to supply shortages stemming from the Iran war.
Zelensky said if conditions imposed on Ukraine because of the dispute threatened weapons supplies, Kyiv would have no choice but to resume oil transit, but said he told EU partners this would amount to “blackmail.”
Oil deliveries through the Druzhba have been halted since Jan. 27, leading to an escalating feud between Hungary and Ukraine. The Ukrainian government says that a Russian drone strike damaged the pipeline’s infrastructure, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has accused Zelensky of deliberately holding up oil supplies.
In response, Orbán vetoed a new round of EU sanctions against Russia, and is blocking a major, $106-billion EU loan for Ukraine until flows are resumed.
Blann writes for the Associated Press.
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