Ukraine and Russia wrapped up two days of US mediated peace talks in Geneva on Wednesday after a brief final session, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accusing Moscow of slowing efforts to end the four-year war, reports Reuters.
The second day of discussions lasted about two hours. Zelenskiy said progress had been made but that positions remained apart, describing the negotiations as difficult and accusing Russia of attempting to drag them out despite what he said could have been a final-stage process.
Rustem Umerov, who heads Ukraine’s delegation, said the talks were intensive and substantive, adding that both sides were working on proposals that could be submitted to their presidents. Russia’s chief negotiator, former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky, said further negotiations would be held soon, without giving a date.
The Geneva meeting followed two earlier rounds of US brokered talks in Abu Dhabi that failed to produce a breakthrough, with both sides divided over key issues including control of territory in eastern Ukraine.
Speaking in an interview with US outlet Axios published on Tuesday, Zelenskiy criticised US President Donald Trump for publicly urging Ukraine, rather than Russia, to make concessions. Trump had said on Monday that Ukraine needed to come to the table quickly.
Zelenskiy said any proposal requiring Ukraine to surrender territory not currently occupied by Russian forces in the Donbas would be rejected by voters in a referendum.
Ukrainian officials have called for stronger involvement from European allies, with Zelenskiy describing their participation as indispensable. France, Germany and the UK have been among Kyiv’s main backers.
The talks came days before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s 2022 invasion. Moscow controls about 20 per cent of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea and parts of Donbas seized before the full-scale assault. Recent Russian strikes on energy infrastructure have left hundreds of thousands without heating or electricity during winter.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly accused Moscow of negotiating in bad faith. Russian news agencies cited a source describing the first day of talks as very tense, lasting six hours in bilateral and trilateral formats.
Ukrainian government bonds fell by as much as 1.9 cents on the dollar in European trading amid reports of stalled progress. Before the talks, Umerov had said Kyiv was participating without excessive expectations.
