KYIV – In a renewed push to end the ongoing conflict, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dispatched an official delegation to the United States. The aim is to rekindle stalled negotiations concerning Russia’s incursion into Ukraine. Meanwhile, a high-ranking Kremlin representative hinted on Friday that fresh U.S.-facilitated discussions between Moscow and Kyiv could occur in the near future.

These trilateral discussions have so far failed to yield significant progress on critical matters and have been largely sidelined by the global focus on the conflict in Iran. President Zelenskyy is eager to regain momentum in these negotiations, announcing late Thursday that Ukrainian envoys were on their way to the U.S. for a meeting anticipated on Saturday. Despite this, the White House has not yet confirmed any such meeting.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov clarified that Russia will not participate in these upcoming talks. He noted that the timing and location for a new trilateral dialogue remain undecided. “We hope the current pause is only temporary in regard to continuing the trilateral format,” Peskov remarked.

Over the past year, Western European officials have consistently criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for allegedly stalling the negotiations. They accuse him of leveraging his military’s superior size to gain more territory in Ukraine. As it stands, Russian forces occupy nearly 20% of Ukrainian land.

“The pause is temporary, we hope it’s temporary regarding the continuation of the trilateral format,” he said.

Western European officials have over the past year repeatedly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in negotiations while he tries to press his bigger army’s battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land. Russian forces hold nearly 20% of Ukraine.

The latest conflict in the Middle East that began Feb. 28 with Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran has diverted international attention from Ukraine’s plight.

At the same time, Russia is getting a financial windfall from a temporary U.S. waiver on oil sanctions while Ukraine is desperately short of cash and still waiting for a 90-billion-euro ($103 billion) loan promised by the European Union.

Kyiv could also get fewer of the advanced air defense missiles it needs to fend off Russian aerial attacks as the Iran war burns through stockpiles.

Putin is widely expected to launch new offensives as the weather in Ukraine improves, piling further pressure on Kyiv.

Ukraine has become one of the world’s leading producers of battle-tested drone interceptors, and Zelenskyy is hoping to provide expertise to Arab Gulf countries targeted by Iranian Shaheds in exchange for air defense missiles.

A team of senior Ukrainian officials has visited the Gulf region in recent days.

“There is an understanding of what new security agreements can be reached with countries in the region,” Zelenskyy said in an evening address on Thursday.

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Associated Press writer Michelle Price in Washington contributed to this report.

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