‘Difficult’ Ukraine Peace Talks End After Zelenskyy Accuses Russia Of Stalling
GENEVA, Feb 18 (Reuters) – Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Geneva ended after just two hours on Wednesday, with President Volodymyr Zelensyiy describing the talks as “difficult” and accusing Russia of deliberately delaying progress towards a deal that would end four years of war.
The two-day US-brokered peace talks in Switzerland took place, with US President Donald Trump saying twice in recent days that it was up to Ukraine and Zelenskyy to ensure the talks were successful.
“We can see that progress is being made, but positions are different for now because the negotiations are difficult,” Zelenskyy told reporters in a WhatsApp chat shortly after the talks concluded.
The head of Kiev’s negotiating team, Rustem Umerov, also said the second day was “intense and important”. He said he was working on resolutions that could be sent to the presidents of both parties.
Russia’s chief negotiator, former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky, told reporters that new talks would be held soon, without specifying a date. Earlier on Wednesday, Zelenskyy accused Russia of “trying to prolong negotiations that may have already reached the final stage.”
Ukrainian officials have routinely accused Moscow of negotiating in bad faith, as it waged a bombing campaign and battlefield offensive against Ukraine’s energy system during the winter months.
Pressure from Trump
In an interview published on the US website Axios on Tuesday, Zelenskyy was quoted as saying it was “not fair” for Trump to openly call on Ukraine, but not Russia, to make concessions on negotiating terms for the peace plan.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File
“It’s better for Ukraine to come to the table as soon as possible. That’s all I’m telling you,” Trump told reporters on Monday.
Zelenskyy also said that any plan requiring Ukraine to give up any territory Russia has not captured in the eastern Donbas region would be rejected by Ukrainians if put to a referendum.
Axios quoted Zelenskyy as saying in the interview, “I hope it’s not his decision, it’s just his tactic.”
Press for European Accession
As Ukrainian officials press for greater involvement of Kiev’s European allies in the peace process, Zelenskyy said this was “indispensable” ahead of Wednesday’s talks. Leading European countries, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom, became strong supporters of Kiev’s position.
The talks took place just days before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of its much smaller neighbor in 2022. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed, millions fled their homes, and many of Ukraine’s cities, towns, and villages were devastated by conflict.
Russia denies allegations that it deliberately targeted civilians.
Russian Source Describes Negotiations as ‘Very Tense’
Umerov said Tuesday that the first day of talks focused on “practical issues and the mechanics of possible decisions,” without providing details. But Russian news agencies quoted a source as saying Tuesday’s talks were “very tense” and lasted six hours in different bilateral and trilateral formats.
Ukrainian government bonds fell as much as 1.9 cents on the dollar in morning trading in Europe on news that progress in talks had stalled.
Before the talks began, Umerov downplayed hopes for a significant step forward in Geneva, saying the Ukrainian delegation was working “without excessive expectations.”
The Geneva meeting followed two rounds of US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi that ended without a major breakthrough as the two sides remained distant on key issues such as control of territory in eastern Ukraine.
Russia occupies about 20% of Ukraine’s national territory, including Crimea and parts of the eastern Donbas region captured before a full-scale invasion in 2022. Recent air strikes on energy infrastructure have left hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians without heat and electricity throughout the harsh winter.
(Reporting by John Revill, Olivia Le Poidevin and Ron Popeski; Editing by Michael Perry, Alexandra Hudson)
