Ukrainian officials are making a surprise trip to the United States, a desperate move by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to restart peace negotiations that have stalled since the war in the Middle East erupted. Zelenskyy announced the unscheduled meetings on Thursday, emphasizing that it’s “time to resume them” after previous discussions were “constantly postponed.”
This push comes three weeks after the conflict in Iran effectively froze U.S.-led efforts to find a resolution for the war in Ukraine. According to The New York Times, while many in Ukraine weren’t convinced the peace process was close to ending the conflict with Russia, direct talks had helped narrow some gaps. Zelenskyy told reporters on Friday that Russian officials wouldn’t be attending these new negotiations.
