Talks on Ukraine can't wait until Iran war is over, Zelenskyy says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has acknowledged that the war in Iran has diverted attention from Russia's aggression against Ukraine. He says there is a serious risk that efforts to stop the fighting in Ukraine may not resume until the conflict in Iran is over.

Source: European Pravda, citing CNN

Details: Zelenskyy said that although technical talks with the United States are continuing, he does not "see the opportunity to meet … until the question, the case of Iran will be closed".

He noted that it is a "challenge" that the same US negotiating team, led by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, is handling the talks on both the war in Iran and the war in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy also said that although he understands the US is currently focused on the war with Iran, it is important not to forget about Ukraine, where fighting continues.

Zelenskyy said it is not an option to say "we will speak about [Ukraine] a little bit later. … Ukraine is not 'a little bit later.' Ukraine is already in such a big tragedy, we have to find a way to manage this in a parallel way".

Background:

• Zelenskyy said earlier that Ukraine has still not received confirmation of the dates when Witkoff and Kushner will visit Kyiv. He said they had promised during a conversation with him that they would visit Kyiv in early April.
• Zelenskyy acknowledged last week that the Trump administration and its negotiators have now shifted their focus away from the talks on the Russo-Ukrainian war due to the war with Iran.
• Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Ukrainian President's Office, said earlier that he expected a US delegation to arrive in Kyiv after Orthodox Easter, which fell on 12 April this year.

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