Ukraine-Russia Talks End in Geneva
The talks were facilitated by Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, marking the latest attempt by Washington to bridge deeply entrenched positions between Kyiv and Moscow.
Russia's delegation was led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, a notable shift from the senior military figures who headed earlier rounds held in Abu Dhabi. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov signaled ahead of Wednesday's session that the agenda had broadened to encompass a "wider range of issues," including the "main issues concerning the territories," which he described as central to Moscow's demands.
Ukraine's team was headed by Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, who entered the talks with a clear directive from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "We have a framework for work agreed upon by the President of Ukraine and a clear mandate. Security and humanitarian issues are on the agenda," he said prior to the session.
Confirming Wednesday's resumption on Facebook, Umerov described parallel working groups operating across political and military tracks. "We are working on clarifying the parameters and mechanisms of the decisions discussed yesterday. We are focused on substantive work. We will provide additional information on the results," he added.
Tuesday's session, which stretched beyond four hours, included a separate coordination meeting Umerov held with representatives from the US and key European allies — France, the UK, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland — aimed at aligning approaches ahead of further steps.
Russian media, drawing on sources embedded within the Russian delegation, characterized the negotiations as "very tense," while also reporting that bilateral Russian-US exchanges occurred on the sidelines of the trilateral format.
On the American side, Witkoff offered an optimistic assessment, stating that the dialogue had "brought about meaningful progress" toward a resolution. "President Trump's success in bringing both sides of this war together has brought about meaningful progress, and we are proud to work under his leadership to stop the killing in this terrible conflict," he wrote on X.
The diplomatic activity unfolded against a backdrop of ongoing violence. President Zelenskyy disclosed late Tuesday that Russia launched 29 missiles and nearly 400 drones in the lead-up to the talks, with 25 missiles successfully intercepted.
"Russia greets with a strike even the very day new formats begin in Geneva," he wrote in a Telegram post. "The team absolutely must raise the issue of these strikes -- first of all with the American side, which proposed that both Ukraine and Russia refrain from attacks. Ukraine is ready. We do not need war. And we always act symmetrically -- defending our state and our independence."
He added: "Likewise, we are ready to move quickly toward a just agreement to end the war."
The negotiations remain closed to the press, with no formal joint statement anticipated in the immediate aftermath.
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