Iran visit crowds out Ukraine talks

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi went to St. Petersburg on April 27 to meet Sergei Lavrov and Vladimir Putin as U.S.-Iran diplomacy stalled. (politico.eu) (usnews.com) On arrival, Araghchi said the last round of talks failed because of Washington’s “excessive demands” and “wrong approaches,” according to Russian state media cited by Politico. (politico.eu) Putin used the meeting to back Tehran publicly, saying the Iranian people were fighting “courageously and heroically” for their sovereignty and that Moscow would do all it could to help. (usnews.com) (al-monitor.com) The trip came one day after Trump said he had canceled plans to send special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan for talks, saying Iran could “call us anytime.” (politico.eu) (cbsnews.com) Iran has tried to keep two tracks alive at once: an immediate bargain over reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the U.S. blockade, and a separate, later track on nuclear issues. Associated Press reported that regional officials described an offer to reopen Hormuz if the war ends and the blockade is lifted. (apnews.com) (msn.com) That Middle East crisis has also pushed Ukraine down the agenda. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that another round of U.S.-Russia-Ukraine talks was postponed on March 12 as Washington redirected senior attention and military resources toward Iran. (rferl.org) The Kremlin said the same thing more directly on April 8, after a two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire: spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow hoped Washington would again have time for trilateral Ukraine talks. (al-monitor.com) (thehindu.com) Those Ukraine talks were already moving slowly over territory. Reuters, via Al-Monitor, reported that Russia wants Ukraine to give up the rest of Donbas, while Kyiv refuses to cede land Russian forces still have not taken. (al-monitor.com) Araghchi’s stop in Russia showed how the two crises are now overlapping: Iran is seeking leverage and backing from Moscow while Russia argues the Iran war has consumed the U.S. bandwidth for Ukraine diplomacy. (politico.eu) (rferl.org)