Russia is in contact with the United ‌States about a new round of talks on a Ukraine peace settlement as soon as conditions allow, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

“We remain open, we are in contact ​with the Americans, and we are counting on holding the ​next round of talks as soon as circumstances permit,” Kremlin ⁠spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov rejected the thesis of a New York Times opinion ​piece that said the Iran war had caused President Vladimir Putin to lose interest in negotiating ​an end to the Ukraine conflict.

“This is an absolutely false invention that does not correspond to reality. During the rounds of trilateral talks that have taken place, some progress ​was made toward a settlement,” Peskov told reporters.

Peskov said Russia had not lost ​interest in peace talks but added that key issues - including territory - had yet to be settled.

The NYT ‌opinion piece, ⁠by Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar, said Russia’s economy had been faltering earlier this year, prompting Putin at that point to take negotiations on a Ukraine settlement more seriously.

However, Zygar said the Iran war had reversed those ​dynamics by boosting ​oil prices, easing ⁠the economic pressure on Moscow and reducing the U.S. focus on Ukraine, weakening any incentive for the Kremlin ​to seek a settlement.

Earlier this week, Kremlin aide Yuri ​Ushakov said ⁠the U.S. had briefed Russia about Washington’s latest round of talks with a Ukrainian delegation in Florida, which took place last Saturday.

The last three-way peace talks between ⁠Russia, ​Ukraine and the U.S. took place last ​month, before the Trump administration and Israel began airstrikes against Iran on February 28.