The third round of trilateral negotiations involving delegations from Ukraine, the USA, and Russia, aimed at finding ways to end the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine, has concluded in Geneva. The talks lasted for two days, on February 17 and 18, and focused on key issues of territorial claims and security guarantees for Ukraine.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Progress in Negotiations and the Position of the Ukrainian Side
Rustem Umerov, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine and head of the Ukrainian delegation, reported progress on certain issues. According to him, the negotiations took place in a tense yet constructive format, involving both political and military blocks of the delegations. Security parameters and mechanisms for implementing potential solutions were discussed. Some issues were clarified, while others are still undergoing additional coordination.
“The work was intensive and substantive. We thank our American partners for ensuring that the process does not stop and continues. We thank the Swiss side for their hospitality and the platform provided. Within the delegation, political and military blocks were working. We discussed security parameters and mechanisms for implementing possible solutions. Some issues were clarified, while others are still undergoing additional coordination. We are focused on refining the key provisions necessary to finalize the process. This is a complex task that requires the agreement of all parties and time. There is progress, but for now, without details,” noted Umerov.
Umerov emphasized that the next step is to achieve the necessary level of consensus to present the developed solutions for consideration by the heads of state. The main task of the negotiators is to create a real, not a formal, basis for future agreements. The Ukrainian side stresses that the ultimate goal remains unchanged – to achieve a just and lasting peace.
Assessments of the Negotiations from Ukraine and Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky characterized the meetings as challenging and noted that Russia is dragging out the negotiations, which could have already moved to the final stage. He shared this after the report of the Ukrainian delegation on the outcomes of the negotiations in Switzerland.
At the same time, a representative from Russia, President Vladimir Putin’s assistant Vladimir Medinsky, stated in a comment to Russian state media after the negotiations that the talks were difficult but businesslike, and that the parties agreed to continue the meetings.
The Geneva negotiations marked the third round of trilateral meetings in the past month. They took place on the eve of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has resulted in an estimated nearly two million people being killed or injured on both sides.