ISTANBUL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that the planned trilateral peace talks between the delegations of Ukraine, US, and Russia in the UAE's capital Abu Dhabi this week have not yet been canceled, as tensions rise due to the US-Israel military operation against Iran, which has retaliated through drones and missile attacks in the Gulf region.

Speaking to journalists, Zelenskyy said he could not confirm the venue but stressed “no one has cancelled” the meeting.

“Due to the current military conflict, we cannot confirm that the meeting will take place in Abu Dhabi, but nonetheless, no one has cancelled it. The meeting must take place; it is important to us. We support this meeting," Zelenskyy said.

He added that if talks cannot be held in Abu Dhabi due to the security situation, other venues where previous negotiations took place could be used.

“If there are difficulties with Abu Dhabi due to missiles and drones, then I think we have Türkiye, we have Switzerland - venues that have already worked and allowed us all to meet. We will definitely support any of these three venues for the meeting. We are waiting for a response from our partners,” Zelenskyy said.

According to him, the date of the talks is most likely March 5-6 and is possible between the period of March 5-8.

Russian officials have yet to comment on his remarks.

Russia, Ukraine and the US previously held three rounds of peace talks -- Jan. 23-24, Feb. 4-5 and Feb. 17-18 -- the first two of which were held in the UAE capital. The third round took place in Geneva.