KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in comments released Sunday that he was ready for the next round of trilateral peace talks to end Russia鈥檚 more than , but that it was up to Washington and Moscow to agree on where and when to meet.
Zelenskyy said the U.S. had proposed hosting the next meeting between American, Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams, which include U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, but Moscow had refused to send a delegation.
鈥淲e are waiting for a response from the Americans. Either they will change the country where we meet, or the Russians must confirm the U.S,鈥� Zelenskyy said in a media briefing Saturday. 鈥淲e are not blocking any of these initiatives. We want a trilateral meeting to take place.鈥�
The U.S. has between the two sides due to the war in the Middle East. The , which erupted on Feb. 28 following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and spread across the region, has drawn the international spotlight away from Ukraine鈥檚 plight as it strives to hold back Russia鈥檚 bigger army.
Speaking to journalists, Zelenskyy also warned of a 鈥渧ery high鈥� risk that the Iran war could drain the air defense stockpiles Ukraine depends on to counter Russian missile strikes.
Zelenskyy said he lacked a clear picture of available stockpiles and had discussed with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday whether SAMP/T systems could serve as an alternative to U.S.-made Patriot batteries for intercepting ballistic missiles. He said Ukraine would be 鈥渇irst in line鈥� to test any viable alternative.
US requested Ukrainian drone assistance
He also appeared to push back against U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 recent assertion that Washington has no need for Ukrainian drone technology.
鈥淣o, we don鈥檛 need their help on drone defense,鈥� Trump said in a Fox 海角社区app Radio interview that aired Friday.
Zelenskyy said Washington had reached out to Ukraine 鈥渟everal times鈥� to request assistance for a particular country or for support for Americans, without giving specifics. He said the requests had come from various U.S. military institutions to Ukraine鈥檚 Ministry of Defense and other military leaders.
鈥淎ll our institutions received these requests, and we responded to them,鈥� Zelenskyy said.
He said he had offered Washington a defense cooperation deal last year worth $35 billion鈥�$50 billion that would have given the U.S. administration access to technology from roughly 200 Ukrainian drone, AI and electronic warfare firms, with half of all production earmarked for partners, primarily the U.S.
According to the Ukrainian leader, American military officials had expressed strong interest in the proposal, and Trump himself had indicated he was receptive.
鈥淲e received a message from them, and directly from the president as well, that they are interested,鈥� Zelenskyy told reporters. 鈥淲e did not sign the document with President Trump. I do not have an answer as to why. Perhaps it will happen later, but I am not sure.鈥�
Zelenskyy warns of 鈥榖lackmail鈥� over oil transit
With regard to reopening the , which until late January transported Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, Zelenskyy said he was against allowing Russian oil to transit through Ukraine while the EU imposes sanctions on its sale elsewhere.
鈥淲hy can we, in one case, tell the United States that we oppose lifting sanctions, while on the other hand forcing Ukraine to resume oil transit through Druzhba 鈥� and at a political price that effectively pays for anti-European policies?鈥� Zelenskyy said. The U.S. has temporarily eased some sanctions on Russian oil shipments, reflecting global concerns over sharply higher crude prices due to supply shortages stemming from
Zelenskyy said if conditions imposed on Ukraine because of the dispute threatened weapons supplies, Kyiv would have no choice but to resume oil transit, but said he told EU partners this would amount to 鈥渂lackmail.鈥�
Oil deliveries through the Druzhba have been halted since Jan. 27, leading to an between Hungary and Ukraine. The Ukrainian government says that a Russian drone strike damaged the pipeline鈥檚 infrastructure, but Hungarian Prime Minister has accused Zelenskyy of deliberately holding up oil supplies.
In response, Orb谩n vetoed a new round of EU sanctions against Russia, and is blocking a major 90-billion euro ($106 billion) EU loan for Ukraine until flows are resumed.
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