Zelensky says Ukraine waiting on US and Russia to set next round of talks
He said it was up to Washington and Moscow to agree on where and when to meet.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in comments released on 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 he said it was up to Washington and Moscow to agree on where and when to meet.
Mr Zelensky said the US had proposed hosting the next meeting between 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,” Mr Zelensky said in a media briefing on Saturday.
“Either they will change the country where we meet, or the Russians must confirm the US.
““We are not blocking any of these initiatives. We want a trilateral meeting to take place.”
The US has postponed its sponsored talks between the two sides because of the war in the Middle East.
The Iran war, which erupted on February 28 following US-Israeli strikes on Iran 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, Mr Zelensky also warned of a “very high” risk that the Iran war could drain the air defence stockpiles Ukraine depends on to counter Russian missile strikes.
He 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 for intercepting ballistic missiles.
He said Ukraine would be “first in line” to test any viable alternative.
He also appeared to push back against US President Donald Trump’s recent assertion that Washington has no need for Ukrainian drone technology.
“No, we don’t need their help on drone defence,” Mr Trump said in a Fox News Radio interview that aired on Friday.
Mr 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 US military institutions to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence and other military leaders.
“All our institutions received these requests, and we responded to them,” Mr Zelensky said.
He said he had offered Washington a defence cooperation deal last year worth between 35 billion and 50 billion dollars that would have given the US administration access to technology from roughly 200 Ukrainian drone, AI and electronic warfare firms, with half of all production earmarked for partners, primarily the US.
According to the Ukrainian leader, American military officials had expressed strong interest in the proposal, and Mr Trump himself had indicated he was receptive.
“We received a message from them, and directly from the president as well, that they are interested,” Mr 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.”
With regard to reopening the Druzhba pipeline, which until late January transported Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, Mr 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?” Mr Zelensky said.
The US has temporarily eased some sanctions on Russian oil shipments, reflecting global concerns over sharply higher crude prices because of supply shortages stemming from the Iran war.
Mr 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 January 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 Orban has accused Mr Zelensky of deliberately holding up oil supplies.
In response, Mr Orban vetoed a new round of EU sanctions against Russia, and is blocking a major 90-billion euro (£78 billion) EU loan for Ukraine until flows are resumed.
