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Ukraine peace talks are on “situational pause” as conflict in the Middle East escalates, the Kremlin said Thursday, while Kiev indicated talks could resume later this week.
Following reports in Russian media that the Kremlin had halted talks on Ukraine and the Middle East conflict could push Kiev toward a compromise, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the halt.
“This is a situational stoppage for obvious reasons,” Peskov told reporters when asked about the report, according to Reuters.
Peskov said that as soon as “our American partners” can refocus on the Ukraine conflict, Moscow hopes the pause will end and new talks can begin, the outlet reported.
Ukraine to meet Trump envoys ahead of high-level Geneva talks with Russia as war enters fifth year
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a briefing in Kiev, Ukraine, on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Danilo Antoniuk/AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video posted on Twitter that Kiev had received signals from the US that it was ready to resume talks aimed at ending the war.
“There has been a pause in the talks and it is time to restart them,” he said. “We are doing everything we can to make sure that the negotiations are really concrete.”
Zelensky said a Ukrainian negotiating team is already on its way to the US and is expected to meet on Saturday.
Russia, Ukraine to discuss region as Trump says both sides ‘want to make deal’
Firefighters extinguish a fire in the ruins of an apartment building after a Russian missile attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrey Marienko)
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said that “hatred” between Russia and Ukraine was getting in the way of reaching a peace deal.
“The hatred between Putin and his counterpart is enormous,” Trump said, speaking at the Shield of the Americas summit in Doral, Florida.
“It’s so wonderful that, you know, Ukraine, Russia, you think there would be some harmony there, [but] There isn’t. And the hatred is so big. It is very difficult for them to reach there. It is very, very difficult to get there. So we’ll see what happens,” Trump said. “But we’ve been close at times and someone will step back.”
Ukraine’s Zelensky: Russia trying to ‘play’ with Trump, stalling peace talks
US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands at a press conference after a meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida on December 28, 2025. (Joe Raddle/Getty Images)
Trump’s comments come after NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in January that Russia was losing 20,000 to 25,000 soldiers every month in the war against Ukraine.
The breakdown in talks comes as Ukraine becomes increasingly entangled in the broader 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.
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The US and Gulf partners have requested Ukrainian assistance, with Kiev indicating it is willing to share both systems and personnel to help defend against Iranian air threats.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman-Diamond and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report with Reuters.
