Russian report says Ukraine peace talks paused amid Iran war
2026.03.19 08:50 A man walks past portraits of Russian soldiers in a St Petersburg street exhibition. Photo: AP Peace talks between the United States, Russia and Ukraine on ending the Ukraine war, the deadliest European conflict since World War II, are on pause amid the Iran war, the Izvestia newspaper reported on Thursday, citing Russian officials. US President Donald Trump, who last year said he wanted to be remembered as a peacemaker, vowed to end the Ukraine war but has since said that efforts to resolve the conflict have been one of his biggest disappointments. The US and Israeli attack on Iran has diverted US attention away from Ukraine and triggered soaring prices for oil and gas - of which Russia is a major global producer and exporter. Izvestia, which in Soviet times represented official state views and is now under European Union sanctions, said in a front-page story that the Kremlin had confirmed a pause in talks on Ukraine and that the Iran war could push Kyiv towards compromise. A Ukrainian soldier walks down a road covered with anti-drone netting in Izyum, Kharkiv region. Photo: AFP Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the paper that Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev would continue working on investment and economic cooperation, but “the trilateral group is on pause”. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine, triggering the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the depths of the Cold War. Russia and Ukraine held talks in Turkey last year, and have conducted several more sessions with US mediation in Abu Dhabi and Geneva this year. But they remain far apart on Russia’s demand for Ukraine to cede control of the whole of its eastern Donetsk region. Ukraine and European leaders say that Russia cannot be allowed to achieve its aims after what they cast as an imperial-style land grab. If Russia wins, European powers say, then it will one day attack Nato. Moscow says such claims
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