• Ukranian FM says ‘American decisiveness’ in Gulf can be replicated
• Kremlin also signals hope for peace talks
• US vice president calls conflict ‘hardest to solve’, pledges continued effort

KYIV: Kyiv on Wednesday called on the United States to pressure Russia into ending its invasion of Ukraine, saying a US ceasefire agreement with Iran demonstrated the success of American “decisiveness,” while the Kremlin said it was hopeful for a new round of talks.

The calls from both capitals came after a war in the Middle East suspended US-led efforts to end the four-year conflict in Ukraine.

“American decisiveness works,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga wrote on social media. “We believe it is time for sufficient decisiveness to force Moscow to cease fire and end its war against Ukraine.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky echoed those comments in a later social media post, voicing support for diplomatic efforts tied to the recent two-week ceasefire between Tehran and Washington.

“Ukraine has always called for a ceasefire in the war waged by Russia here in Europe against our state and our people, and we support the ceasefire in the Middle East and the Gulf that paves the way for diplomatic efforts,” he wrote.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia is hoping for new US-brokered trilateral talks on ending the war. “American negotiators are currently preoccupied with Iranian affairs,” Peskov said. “We hope that in the foreseeable future they will have more time and more opportunities to meet in a trilateral format. We look forward to this.”

Several rounds of US-led talks have failed to bring the warring sides closer to an agreement. Moscow is demanding sweeping territorial and political concessions from Kyiv that Zelensky has ruled out as tantamount to capitulation.

US Vice President JD Vance said the Ukraine war was proving “the hardest” to solve.

Speaking during a visit to Budapest, he said Washington would “keep on working” to find a solution and insisted there had been “significant progress”. He also slammed European leaders, saying “they don’t seem particularly interested in solving this particular conflict.”

Zelensky also addressed Ukraine’s military role in the Middle East and made a separate ceasefire proposal to Moscow.

He said that Ukrainian military teams helping Middle East countries counter Iranian drone attacks would remain in the region.

Zelensky reiterated his readiness to pause strikes on Russian infrastructure if Moscow halted its long-range drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian power plants and the country’s grid.

“Ukraine tells Russia once again: we are ready to respond in kind if the Russians stop their strikes,” Zelensky wrote. “It is obvious to everyone that a ceasefire can create the right preconditions for agreements.”

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2026