Ukraine and Iran Foreign Ministers Meet at the UN: Agree to Keep Communication Channels Open

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced that he met with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, in an effort to lower tensions between the two countries.

In a post on the X platform, Sybiha said the two diplomats “discussed mutual steps to prevent further escalation of tensions between our countries” and “agreed to keep the existing channels of communication open.” According to him, the talks also covered the situation in the Middle East and Europe, as well as “various tracks of peace efforts” currently underway.

Relations between Kyiv and Tehran have deteriorated sharply after Ukraine accused Iran of supplying Russia with Shahed-type attack drones used in the war against Ukraine. Tehran, for its part, recently accused Ukraine of attacking an Iranian merchant vessel in the Caspian Sea — an incident over which the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires, describing the act as “hostile and criminal.”

The meeting comes at a time when Iran is conducting intensive diplomacy on the sidelines of the UN, as it tries to simultaneously manage the war with the U.S. and tensions with Kyiv. Sybiha emphasized that he “reiterated Ukraine’s position in support of the soonest possible restoration of peace and stability in both our regions.”

Analysts assess that keeping communication channels open is a pragmatic step, even though mistrust between the sides remains deep and no concrete progress was announced after the meeting.

Source: Al Jazeera — https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/9/24/iran-war-live-tehran-says-it-wont-be-bullied-remains-open-for-talks