US–Russia–Ukraine Peace Talks End in Geneva

Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Geneva ended abruptly on Feb. 18, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accusing Moscow of deliberately trying to stymie progress.

The U.S.-mediated peace talks in the Swiss city have been taking place as U.S. President Donald Trump continues his push to end the war, which has been a full-scale conflict for nearly four years.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the trilateral talks yielded meaningful progress.

“Both sides agreed to update their respective leaders and continue to work toward a peace deal together,” Leavitt told reporters on Feb. 18.

The White House spokeswoman said there will be another round of talks, but did not offer a timeline.

Zelenskyy had expressed some reservations ahead of the second day of talks.

“Yesterday’s meetings were indeed difficult, and we can state that Russia is trying to drag out negotiations that could already have reached the final stage,” Zelenskyy wrote in a Feb. 18 post on X.

“I thank the American side for its attention to detail and patience in conversations with the current representatives of Russia.”

Shortly after the Ukrainian leader posted on social media, Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing a source in the Russian negotiating team, that the talks had ended after two hours on Feb. 18, with Moscow’s lead negotiator, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aide Vladimir Medinsky, departing for the airport.

Medinsky later told TASS: “The negotiations lasted two days. They were very long yesterday, in various formats. We had two hours of talks today.

“They were difficult, but businesslike.”

Medinsky also said that the next meeting would take place soon, without giving a specific date.

Russian state media outlet RIA reported, citing Medinsky, that the two-hour meeting on Feb. 18 was a private discussion with the Ukrainian side.

A Ukrainian official also told Reuters that the talks had ended, saying that they lasted “around two hours.”

Giving his assessment of the talks, Kyiv’s lead negotiator, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov, said that the work had been “intensive and substantive.”

“The political and military blocs worked within the delegation,” Umerov said, according to a translation of his Feb. 18 post on Telegram. “We discussed security parameters and mechanisms for implementing possible solutions. Some issues were clarified, while additional coordination is ongoing for some.

“We are focused on working out the key provisions necessary to finalize the process. This is complex work that requires the agreement of all parties and time. There is progress, but so far without details.”

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS that the Russian delegation would report directly to Putin but that it is “too early to talk about any assessments.”

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, who was representing Washington at the meeting, wrote in a Feb. 17 post on X: “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. Both parties agreed to update their respective leaders and continue working towards a deal.”

Zelenskyy Says Trump’s Calling Out Ukraine ‘Not Fair’

Away from the meetings in Geneva, in an interview with Axios published on Feb. 18, Zelenskyy said it was “not fair” that Trump kept publicly calling on Ukraine to make concessions in negotiations.

He said that although it may be easier for Trump to pressure Kyiv than to push Moscow, the way to lasting peace is not “to give victory” to Putin.

Trump had told reporters on Feb. 17: “Ukraine better come to the table fast. That’s all I’m telling you.”

In response to Trump’s comments, Zelenskyy told Axios, “I hope it is just his tactics and not the decision.”

The Ukrainian leader also said he believes that if the part of the deal relating to territory freezes the current battle lines in the Donbas, as is the plan in two other regions in which Russia holds territory, the Ukrainian people would accept it.

“I think that if we will put in the document … that we stay where we stay on the contact line, I think that people will support this [in a] referendum,” he told the publication. “That is my opinion.”

The question of territory remains the most vexing issue in the negotiations, with Russia demanding that Ukraine accept territorial losses.

Russia seized control of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. Since starting a new assault on Ukraine in February 2022, Russian forces have made new territorial gains.

At present, Russian forces control about 20 percent of Ukraine’s pre-2014 territory.

Moscow holds most of the Donetsk Province, located in the Donbas, but has called on Kyiv to hand over about 20 percent of the province that Russian forces have thus far failed to capture by force. Kyiv has refused to grant this concession.