The Kremlin has confirmed that negotiations between Ukraine, Russia and the United States to end the war are currently on hold due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. On Thursday, the Russian daily Izvestiya reported on it, and on Wednesday, representatives of Ukraine also announced it, writes TASR according to the Reuters agency.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the special envoy of the Russian president, Kirill Dmitriyev, will nevertheless continue to work in the areas of investment and economic cooperation. “Kirill Dmitriyev continues to work. The Tripartite Group is suspended,” Peskov was quoted by Izvestiya.
The Russian daily writes that the pause in negotiations and the current situation in Iran could push Kyiv to compromise. The suspension of the negotiations was also confirmed the day before by the spokesman of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Heorhij Tychyj. “They were neither canceled nor terminated, only postponed. There is no other way to look for it. The US attention is currently focused exclusively on the Middle East,” he explained.
So far, three rounds of tripartite peace negotiations have been held with the direct participation of the delegations of Ukraine, Russia and the USA – two in Abu Dhabi and one in Geneva. The next round was originally planned for March 5-9 in Abu Dhabi, but it was postponed due to the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
