Ukraine hopes US, Russia reach agreement on next round of peace talks, Zelenskyy says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in comments published Sunday that he was ready for the next round of negotiations. trilateral peace talks end Russia’s more than four-year crisis invasion of ukrainebut that it was up to Washington and Moscow to agree where and when to meet.

Zelenskyy said the United States had proposed hosting the next meeting between the American, Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams, which include US 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 will meet, or the Russians must confirm to the United States,” Zelenskyy said at a news conference on Saturday. “We are not blocking any of these initiatives. We want a trilateral meeting to take place.”

The United States has postponed sponsored talks between the two sides due to the war in the Middle East. The war against Iran, which broke out on February 28 following US and Israeli attacks on Iran and spread across the region, has diverted international attention from the plight of Ukraine, which is struggling to contain Russia’s largest military.

Speaking to reporters, Zelenskyy also warned of a “very high” risk that war with Iran could deplete the air defense reserves Ukraine depends on to counter Russian missile attacks.

Zelenskyy 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 US-made Patriot batteries to intercept ballistic missiles. He said Ukraine would be “first in line” to test any viable alternative.

He also appeared to reject US President Trump’s recent claim that Washington does not need Ukrainian drone technology.

“No, we don’t need your help on drone defense,” Trump said in a News Radio interview broadcast Friday.

Zelenskyy said Washington had approached Ukraine “several times” to request assistance for a particular country or support for the Americans, without giving details. He said the requests came from various US military institutions to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and other military leaders.

“All of our institutions received these requests and we responded to them,” Zelenskyy said.

He said he had last year offered Washington a defense cooperation deal worth between $35 billion and $50 billion that would have given the U.S. administration access to technology from about 200 Ukrainian drone, artificial intelligence and electronic warfare companies, with half of all production going to partners, primarily the United States.

According to the Ukrainian leader, US military officials had expressed great interest in the proposal and Trump himself had indicated he was receptive.

“We received a message from them, and also directly from the president, that they are interested,” Zelenskyy told reporters. “We didn’t sign the document with President Trump. I don’t have an answer as to why. Maybe it will happen later, but I’m not sure.”