Yesterday at 20:15
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that negotiations on Ukraine must not be delayed due to the war involving Iran, calling it a “major risk” to postpone peace efforts until the Middle East conflict is resolved, UATV English reports.
In an interview with CNN, Zelenskyy said the war with Iran has diverted international attention away from Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, but stressed that ongoing fighting makes any delay unacceptable.
“Ukraine is not something that can wait. We are already in a major tragedy, and we must find a way to address this in parallel,” he said.
Zelenskyy noted that while technical-level discussions with the United States are ongoing, he currently does not see an opportunity for high-level meetings until the situation involving Iran stabilizes.
He highlighted a key challenge: the same U.S. officials — White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — are handling both Iran-related issues and negotiations related to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The president acknowledged that Washington is currently focused on developments in the Middle East but emphasized the need to maintain attention on Ukraine, where active combat continues.
Zelenskyy also revealed that the broader conflict has disrupted deliveries of critical weapons, particularly missile defense systems, which have been delayed due to limited production capacity in the United States.
He previously warned that the war involving Iran could pose risks to arms supplies for Ukraine, although European partners are working to help mitigate these challenges.
