Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Geneva end with no breakthrough

Russia and Ukraine held two days of talks in Geneva on the terms for ending the war, which has been going on for almost four years. Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council press office via AP

The two‑day negotiations in Geneva between Russia and Ukraine on bringing an end to the nearly four‑year‑old war have ended without any concrete progress.

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The Russian delegation left the venue on Wednesday after just under two hours of talk, the state news agency Tass reported.

No details emerged from the US‑brokered talks. The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said another round would be held soon.

“The talks ran over two days – a long session in several formats yesterday and a further two hours today. They were tough but businesslike,” said the former culture minister and current adviser to President Vladimir Putin, according to Tass.

Russian state media said the mood in Geneva was “very tense”. By contrast, US special envoy Steve Witkoff wrote on X that President Donald Trump’s efforts to bring the sides together had led to “significant progress”.

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Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Rustem Umyerov, confirmed that the two‑day round of talks had ended. He also spoke only broadly about the discussions, describing them as intensive and substantive. “There is progress, but we cannot disclose any details at this stage,” said the secretary of Ukraine’s Security Council. The next step, he added, was to reach “a level of alignment” that would allow proposals to be put to the two presidents.

Zelensky accuses Moscow of stalling

Ahead of the second day of talks, both delegations reported back to their capitals. “Yesterday’s meetings were difficult, and it’s clear that Russia is trying to delay negotiations that could already be in their final phase,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

Next week, on February 24, marks four years since President Putin launched the full‑scale assault on Ukraine. The last US‑brokered attempts to bring the sides together took place in January and February in Abu Dhabi, where the Russian team was made up largely of military and intelligence officials.

What role did chief negotiator Medinsky play?

In Geneva, 55‑year‑old Vladimir Medinsky led the Russian delegation, as he had during the Istanbul talks in 2022 and 2025. According to Axios journalist Barak Ravid, the first day in Geneva saw the political track of the negotiations reach a deadlock. He said the sticking point was Medinsky’s own position.

Medinsky is not seen as a major power broker within the Moscow establishment, but he is regarded as a loyal defender of Putin’s line. He is one of the authors of Russia’s new history textbooks, which experts have described as propagandistic and anti‑Western.

Zelensky open to referendum on front line

In an interview with Axios, Zelensky warned the US administration against pushing Ukraine into a peace deal that the public would not accept. He stressed that Ukraine would not give up any more territory. But he said he could imagine people backing a freeze in the conflict along the current front line. “I think people would accept that in a referendum,” he said, adding that such a vote could be held alongside presidential elections.

+ Zelensky accuses Trump of putting unfair pressure on Ukraine in peace talksExternal link

Zelensky also rejected Russia’s demand that Ukrainian troops withdraw from the areas of Luhansk and Donetsk they still hold. “Emotionally, people will never forgive that. Never,” he told Axios. He said his government had agreed with Washington that any deal would need the approval of Ukrainian voters through a referendum.

The Ukrainian president hopes to settle the disputed territorial issues directly in a face‑to‑face summit with Putin. He has instructed his delegation to raise the idea in Geneva. The Kremlin has not ruled out such a meeting, but has repeatedly insisted that it would need careful preparation while showing little sign of taking any concrete steps.

Ukraine has been resisting Russia’s invasion since February 2022 with the backing of Western allies. Since Donald Trump entered the White House in January 2025, Washington has been trying to push both sides towards a negotiated end to the war, combining diplomacy with pressure.

Translated from German by AI/sp

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