Trilateral talks between Russian, US, and Ukrainian delegations in Geneva have been “difficult, but businesslike,” Moscow’s top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said after the second and final session of the consultations ended.
The sides held two-day talks aimed at settling the Ukraine conflict in Switzerland on Tuesday and Wednesday. The countries had previously held two meetings in a similar format in Abu Dhabi in January.
The discussions on Wednesday lasted around two hours, Medinsky told journalists after the conclusion of the meeting. The talks on Tuesday lasted for six hours.
A new round of negotiations will take place “in the near future,” the head of the Russian delegation added.
The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umerov, wrote on Telegram that “progress” had been achieved during the latest round of talks, but declined to provide any specifics.
The political and military working groups within the delegations “discussed security parameters and mechanisms for implementing possible solutions,” he said, describing the discussions as “intensive and substantive.”
“This is complex work that requires the agreement of all parties and time,” Umerov stressed.
The goal for the next stage of the trilateral talks is to work out concrete decisions that could be submitted for consideration to the leaders of the three countries, he said.
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky wrote on Telegram that he is awaiting a detailed report on the results of the Geneva talks from Kiev’s team. “The priority is security guarantees for Ukraine,” he said.
Moscow maintains that any sustainable settlement of the Ukraine conflict requires Kiev to withdraw from the areas still under its control in Donbass – which voted to join Russia in referendums in the fall of 2022 – give up on its NATO aspirations, and commit to demilitarization and denazification.