Peace negotiations concerning Ukraine have reached a temporary standstill due to escalating tensions in the Middle East, the Kremlin announced on Thursday. Despite this pause, Ukrainian representatives have indicated that discussions might potentially restart as early as this weekend.
The confirmation of the pause came after Russian news outlets suggested that the Kremlin had halted talks with Ukraine, implying that the ongoing Middle East crisis might encourage Kyiv to consider concessions. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov acknowledged this suspension, citing it as a “situational pause” attributable to the current geopolitical climate.
“This is a situational pause, for obvious reasons,” Peskov stated during a media briefing, as reported by Reuters. He further expressed hope that once the United States can reorient its focus back towards the Ukraine conflict, the discussions could resume effectively.
In a video statement shared on X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy conveyed optimism about the prospects of renewed talks. He mentioned receiving indications from U.S. officials that they are prepared to engage in negotiations to resolve the ongoing war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Danylo Antoniuk/AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video posted on X that Kyiv has received signals from the U.S. that it is ready to resume talks aimed at ending the war.
“There has been a pause in the talks, and it is time to resume them,” he said. “We are doing everything to ensure that the negotiations are genuinely substantive.”
Zelenskyy added that a Ukrainian negotiating team is already on its way to the U.S. and is expected to hold meetings Saturday.
Firefighters put out the fire in the ruins of an apartment building following Russia’s missile attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said the “hatred” between Russia and Ukraine was getting in the way of reaching a peace deal.
Speaking at the Shield of the Americas Summit in Doral, Florida, Trump said the “hatred between Putin and his counterpart is so great.”
“It’s so great that, you know, Ukraine, Russia, you’d think there would be a little bit of camaraderie, [but] there’s not. And the hatred is so great. It’s very hard for them to get there. It’s very, very hard to get there. So we’ll see what happens,” Trump said. “But we’ve been close a lot of times and one or the other would back out.”
U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands at a news conference following a meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on December 28, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Trump’s comments came after NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in January that Russia was losing between 20,000 and 25,000 troops each month in its war against Ukraine.
The pause in talks comes as Ukraine is increasingly being drawn into the wider Middle East conflict.
With the conflict in Iran now in its third week, Ukraine is providing technology and battlefield-tested tactics to counter Iranian drone attacks.
U.S. and Gulf partners have requested Ukrainian assistance, with Kyiv signaling it is prepared to share both systems and personnel to help defend against Iranian aerial threats.
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