MOSCOW, April 29. /TASS/. Russia is ready to resume Ukraine talks in the Middle East; the US is waiting for Tehran to deplete its weapons as talks stall; and the UAE announces plans to withdraw from OPEC and OPEC+. These stories topped Wednesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Moscow is ready to ask Middle Eastern countries to once again host talks on Ukraine, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Borisenko told Izvestia. He stressed, however, that choosing a location is a technical issue, while the main question is whether the key players have the will to build dialogue.
The Iran war, which broke out on February 28, complicated trilateral communication between Russia, the United States and Ukraine, which had taken place in the Middle East. Moreover, the conflict with Tehran almost completely captured the White House’s attention. Therefore, Ukraine talks are unlikely to restart in the near future, experts say. Kiev’s position is the main problem as Ukraine sees no need to engage in dialogue with Moscow and seek compromises.
"We see and know what the parties’ positions are. The US officials that particularly initiated the process, have distanced themselves from it due to the Iran situation," Denis Denisov, an expert at the Financial University under the Russian Government, pointed out. "That said, since Russia and Ukraine aren’t putting forward any initiatives regarding bilateral communication or any other negotiation formats, the involved parties actually appear to lack the necessary will. As a result, we can see that the process is stagnant," he added.
