Russia, Ukraine plan for US-led peace talks despite war in Iran

Bloomberg News on Mar 2, 2026

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Russia and Ukraine still expect planned U.S.-led peace talks to take place this week, even as President Donald Trump’s administration continues a military campaign against Iran.

With airspace in the United Arab Emirates currently closed amid the risk of missile and drone attacks, the talks are unlikely to take place in Abu Dhabi, according to a person in Moscow with knowledge of the situation. Istanbul is one possible alternative venue, the person said, asking not to be identified because the matter is sensitive.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters Monday that talks he said were planned for around March 5-6 in Abu Dhabi haven’t yet been canceled. Turkey and Switzerland could be alternative locations, he said.

This would be the fourth meeting between the sides this year after two rounds of talks in Abu Dhabi and one in Geneva, as the U.S. seeks to broker a deal to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian demands for Ukraine to cede territory in the eastern Donetsk region that Moscow’s troops have failed to capture in fighting since 2014 is a key unresolved issue in the negotiations.

Russian officials view the next meeting as potentially decisive in whether a peace agreement can be reached. Kremlin envoys told U.S. officials after the last talks in Geneva that further negotiations would be meaningless without a Ukrainian concession on territory, as practically all other issues had been resolved, according to people familiar with the situation.

“We’ll be looking for new formats to finish this war” if Russia walks away from the negotiations, Zelenskyy said in an audio message to reporters.

“We continue to highly value the mediation efforts of the United States,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday, according to the Interfax news service, in response to a question on whether Russia trusts the U.S. as a mediator in the conflict. “But we trust ourselves first and foremost.”

European officials are concerned that the high volume of munitions being used in the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran could have an impact on American stockpiles and Washington’s ability to sell weapons to Ukraine, people familiar with the discussions said.

The European Union is focused on keeping the U.S. engaged in the peace process on Ukraine and also bolstering its own air-defense resources, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal policy.

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—With assistance from Aliaksandr Kudrytski and Andrea Palasciano.