Ukraine seeks more talks, but Kyiv's partners focused on Iran, Zelenskiy says

KYIV, March 9 - Ukraine is ready for new U.S.-backed peace talks with Russia "at any moment", but its partners' attention is currently focused on the Iran conflict, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday, saying that the U.S. had asked to postpone an upcoming meeting.

Zelenskiy also said that Ukraine had received 11 requests from countries neighbouring Iran, as well as from the U.S. and Europe, for help downing drones fired by Tehran. Russia, he said, was manipulating the Iran conflict to improve its position.

Several rounds of talks aimed at ending the four-year-old conflict with Russia have failed to make progress on key issues, including a Russian demand that Kyiv abandon land that Moscow's troops have not managed to capture.

"At the moment, the partners' priority and all attention are focused on the situation around Iran, and because of this the meeting that had been planned for this week is being postponed at the proposal of the American side," Zelenskiy wrote in English on the X social media platform.

"However, Ukraine is ready for a meeting at any moment, in a format that can help and that will be realistic in terms of ending the war."

The Russians, he said, were "trying to manipulate the situation in the Middle East and the Gulf region in favour of their aggression," he wrote.

"And ... effectively turn the Iranian regime’s strikes against its neighbours and American bases into a second front of Russia’s war against Ukraine and, more broadly, against the entire West. This must not be allowed."

UKRAINIAN EXPERIENCE COUNTERING DRONES

Kyiv is seeking to leverage its deep experience countering Russian drones based on Iranian designs as it pushes its allies for more weapons capable of shooting down ballistic missiles fired in Russian air attacks on its cities.

In an earlier statement on X after a national security meeting, Zelenskiy said there was "clear interest" in Ukraine's experience in developing interceptors, electronic warfare systems, and training in dealing with drones.

"Ukraine is ready to respond positively to requests from those who help us protect the lives of Ukrainians and the independence of Ukraine."

He said some requests had been met with "concrete decisions and specific support", without providing further details.

Zelenskiy had earlier told the New York Times that Ukraine sent interceptor drones and a team of experts to protect U.S. military bases in Jordan after a request by Washington on Thursday.

Interceptor drones - costing a few thousand dollars each at most - are seen as an efficient way to counter attacks by drones like the Russian-made Shaheds, and Ukrainian defence firms are ramping up production with an eye toward exporting them.

The U.S. and Qatar were in talks to purchase Ukrainian interceptor drones, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters last week. REUTERS