‘Russia trying to drag out process,’ says Zelensky as Ukraine talks end without breakthrough
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Russia trying to drag out process,’ says Zelensky as Ukraine talks end without breakthrough")
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared in a post that he spoke to his team in Geneva before talks on Wednesday Photograph: (X)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the talks as difficult and said no agreement had been reached on the thorniest questions at the negotiations in Switzerland, accusing Moscow of “trying to drag out” the process.
The latest round of US-mediated peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Geneva ended after only two hours on Wednesday without a breakthrough. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the talks as “difficult” and accused Russia of deliberately delaying progress toward a deal to end the four-year-old war, that is now likely to enter its fifth year next week. Zelensky accused Russia of “trying to drag out negotiations that could already have reached the final stage”. Zelensky said no agreement had been reached on the thorniest questions at the negotiations in Switzerland, accusing Moscow of “trying to drag out” the process.
“We can see that some groundwork has been done, but for now the positions differ, because the negotiations were not easy,” he told reporters after the talks.
Zelensky said the status of Russian-occupied territories in eastern Ukraine and the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which remains under Moscow’s control, were among the most contentious unresolved issues.
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He further said that discussions had taken place along military and political tracks, including how a ceasefire can be implemented.
Rustem Umerov, the head of Kyiv’s negotiating team, said separately that the second day had been “intensive and substantive”. Both sides were working toward decisions that can be sent to their presidents, he said.
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President Donald Trump has said twice in recent days that it is now up to Ukraine and Zelensky to ensure the talks were successful.
The ending of the second day of talks after just two hours signals that a deal is still distant.
‘Talks difficult but businesslike, further rounds planned’
Russia’s chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, described the Geneva discussions as “difficult but businesslike” as he left the talks, adding that further rounds of negotiations were planned and would follow soon.
Moscow is demanding that Ukrainian territory in the east it holds be fully ceded, but Kyiv has rejected the precondition, though Zelensky has said he is willing to consider alternative arrangements, like the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from parts of the east and the establishment of a demilitarised zone.
‘Ukrainian public would reject any peace deal requiring…’
Zelensky told Axios on Tuesday that the Ukrainian public would reject any peace deal requiring Kyiv to unilaterally withdraw from the Donbas. “Emotionally, people will never forgive this. Never. They will not forgive … me, they will not forgive [the US],” he said.
Another unresolved issue is security guarantees, with Zelensky repeatedly stressing that any territorial compromise would come only after Ukraine secures firm commitments from its western allies, including Washington.
But the Trump administration, eager for an international policy win to bolster the president’s standing at home, has been pushing Kyiv to first agree to territorial concessions, offering security guarantees only afterwards.
