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‫‫Friday‬‬ 16:58 2026/01/30

Behind the Scenes of Iran’s Name Entering Ukraine File: What Is Zelensky Hiding?

NOURNEWS – As the postponement of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia remains shrouded in uncertainty, Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent remarks about “developments related to Iran” are being assessed less as a genuine explanation for the delay and more as a diversionary narrative—one that seeks to deflect public attention away from serious disagreements between Kyiv and Washington.

Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, told reporters on Friday, Bahman 10 (January 30), that developments in relations between the United States and Iran could affect the timing and venue of peace negotiations with Russia. According to Reuters, he said the next round of talks, which had been scheduled to take place on Sunday in Abu Dhabi with U.S. mediation, currently has no fixed date. Zelensky stated that events unfolding in relations between Washington and Tehran could influence the timetable for these talks—remarks made amid growing speculation about the possibility of a U.S. military strike on Iran.

However, a report by the newspaper Delovoy Petersburg, citing Komsomolskaya Pravda, presents a different picture of what lies behind the postponement of the negotiations.

According to this report, the main reason for the halt in peace talks is not developments related to Iran, but rather dissatisfaction and anger in the United States over some of Zelensky’s recent actions. The Russian-language outlet emphasizes that the Ukrainian president’s secret contacts with French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as his opposition to parts of the agreements reached with Jared Kushner in the previous round of talks, have provoked Washington’s displeasure.

Within this context, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously announced that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner—senior representatives of Donald Trump who participated in the previous round of peace negotiations—would not attend the planned meeting in Abu Dhabi. Notably, both figures simultaneously play a central role in U.S. nuclear negotiations with Iran, a fact that observers say has provided Zelensky with a convenient pretext to link the delay in Ukraine talks to the Iran file.

Analysts of Ukrainian developments believe that Zelensky’s invocation of Iran reflects less a diplomatic reality and more a calculated effort to conceal serious rifts between Kyiv and Washington and to shift responsibility for the negotiation deadlock onto developments outside the Ukraine dossier.