Trump is losing interest in negotiations on peace in Ukraine — Financial Times

“The Middle East has seriously redirected political attention away from Ukraine. For us and for Ukraine, this is a catastrophe”, - one EU diplomat said in a comment to Financial Times.

According to four EU diplomats involved in negotiations with Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East has distracted Washington from a peace agreement between russia and Ukraine.

Diplomats believe that this benefits russia due to higher oil prices, the suspension of U.S. sanctions, and the rapid depletion of American weapons stocks needed by the Defense Forces of Ukraine.

Negotiations between Ukrainian and russian officials, in which the United States acts as a mediator, “are indeed at risk”, a senior European official said.

The publication recalled that the latest trilateral peace talks took place in Geneva on February 17–18. A new round, which was supposed to take place on March 5 in Abu Dhabi, was postponed due to U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. At the moment, the date and location of the next round of negotiations have not yet been announced.

As diplomats said, EU countries were informed that deliveries of American weapons, particularly air defense systems, would be delayed because Washington is giving priority to customers in the Middle East, which has serious consequences for Kyiv.

“This is certainly a problem, since there is competition for the same weapons both in the Middle East and in Ukraine. It is obvious that America’s attention is now focused on the Middle East”, - the EU’s chief diplomat Kaja Kallas said in a comment to FT.