FT: Trump losing interest in Ukraine talks as he focuses on Iran

US President Donald Trump is losing interest in talks on peace in Ukraine as he focuses on Iran, according to the Financial Times.

Source: Financial Times (FT), citing sources familiar with the matter, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The FT said the negotiating process has reached a deadlock because of Trump losing interest in a peaceful settlement in Ukraine.

In the view of four EU diplomats involved in talks with Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East has diverted Washington's attention from a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the diplomats say the whole situation benefits Russia because of higher oil prices, suspended US sanctions and the rapid depletion of US weapons stocks needed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials, in which the US is acting as a mediator, are "really in the danger zone", a senior European official said.

The latest trilateral peace talks took place in Geneva on 17-18 February. The following round, which was due to take place on 5 March in Abu Dhabi, was postponed because of US-Israeli strikes on Iran, and a new date and venue have not yet been announced.

"The Middle East has severely reoriented political attention. For us, and for Ukraine, it's a disaster," one of the EU diplomats said.

EU countries have been warned that deliveries of US weapons, especially air defence systems, will be delayed as Washington prioritises Middle Eastern customers – a move that could have serious repercussions for Kyiv.

Although EU leaders doubt that the peace talks will succeed without additional pressure on Moscow, they see this process as a way to keep the US interested in the situation in Ukraine.

EU officials have been trying to keep Ukraine at the centre of attention since the start of the US-Israeli attack on Iran two weeks ago.

On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron received President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris to counter what an Élysée Palace representative called the "eclipse effect" of war in Iran.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited the White House three days after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, bringing maps and charts to make a case for increased pressure on Moscow.

However, Trump was not inclined towards a detailed discussion and remains convinced that Russia is strong and Ukraine is weak, sources familiar with the course of the discussion noted.

During the meeting, there were no signs of the US's willingness to increase pressure on Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. Over the past week, US officials told European colleagues that there will be no further sanctions against the Russian oil sector, two EU diplomats noted.

People familiar with the course of the talks told the FT that US officials are interested in helping to stop the war but are largely indifferent to the terms on which it should end.

A White House representative noted that Trump had retained "hope" that the talks would lead to the end of war, and that US negotiators had made "significant progress" over recent months.

"I don't think the Russians want to have talks anytime soon again, because there's nothing to talk about", one of the participants in the non-public talks said.

Background:

• Zelenskyy previously said that Ukraine is prepared for a new round of talks on ending the war, but the venue and timing have still not been agreed upon because of differing positions of the US and Russia.
• Zelenskyy said earlier that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had told him in a phone call that Türkiye was willing to host the next round of trilateral talks.

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