Senior Ukrainian and Russian officials are set to meet in Switzerland this week for a second round of talks brokered by the Trump administration, days before the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The two-day meeting, which begins on Tuesday, is expected to mirror talks held in Abu Dhabi earlier this month and will be attended by representatives from Washington, Kiev and Moscow. Despite renewed U.S. efforts to reinvigorate diplomacy, hopes for a sudden breakthrough remain low and Russia continues to press for maximum demands on Ukraine.
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While discussions in Abu Dhabi focused mainly on military ceasefire proposals, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that the Geneva talks would address “a wider range of issues” including territorial issues and other demands made by Moscow.
Vladimir Medinsky, an ultraconservative Putin adviser who has previously questioned Ukraine’s sovereignty, will lead the Russian negotiating team. Moscow said he would be joined by nearly two dozen officials, including Russia’s military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin. Ukraine is expected to send the same delegation to Geneva as in previous rounds, led by Rustem Umerov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.
Switzerland’s choice marks the first time talks will be held on European soil, following previous rounds in Abu Dhabi and Istanbul.
The choice of Geneva appears to have been driven by Washington. Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are expected to lead U.S. engagement with Russia and Ukraine, are scheduled to hold separate meetings with Iranian officials in the city later this week.
Trump, who has spent his second term in office criticizing Moscow and Kiev, shifted blame this weekend to Vladimir Zelensky, suggesting Ukraine was stalling efforts to end the war.
“Zelensky needs to act. Russia wants a deal. He needs to act or he will miss a great opportunity,” he said in comments to reporters.
But his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, speaking at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, said Washington remains unsure whether Russia is truly serious about ending the war in Ukraine.
Ahead of the Geneva meeting, Zelensky made clear that Ukraine was unwilling to give up territory in Donbass – a key Kremlin demand. He cited Russia’s previous land grabs in Chechnya, Georgia and Crimea and said it was “a big mistake to allow the aggressors to seize something.”
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“That’s why now I don’t want to be a president who repeats the mistakes of his predecessor or others… because Putin can’t be stopped with kisses or flowers. I’ve never done that, so I think it’s wrong. My advice to everyone is: don’t do this to Putin.”
He said Russia was currently losing 30,000 to 35,000 people a month as its attempts to seize more territory in four years of all-out war were costly and mostly unsuccessful. “Can you imagine in the 21st century? I’m not sure he [Putin] Zelensky knows this.
In Kyiv, there are no expectations that the latest round of trilateral talks will lead to a political breakthrough. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Zelensky said his country would not abandon the heavily fortified areas of northern Donetsk Oblast, including the cities of Slovenia and Kramatorsk, or the 200,000 civilians living there.
He said Ukraine would play a “constructive” role in the trilateral talks but acknowledged differences with the United States over security guarantees. The Trump administration proposed a 15-year commitment, while Ukraine wants the U.S. commitment to last 30 to 50 years. Zelensky said Kiev hopes the war will end this year.
The chief of staff to the president, Kyrilo Budanov, posted a photo of himself setting off on a train for talks with the Ukrainian delegation. He wrote: “On the way to Geneva. The next round of negotiations is coming soon. Along the way, we will discuss the lessons of our history with our colleagues and seek the right conclusions. Ukraine’s interests must be protected.”
The historical reference seems to be a mockery of Medinsky. An article written by the former culture minister in 2021, believed to be the work of Putin, argued that Ukraine and Russia are one nation and state with common origins in the 9th century. Kiev interpreted his presence as a sign that the Kremlin was not taking the talks seriously.
Oleksiy Haran, a professor of comparative politics at Kyiv’s Mohyla Institute, said Ukrainians overwhelmingly oppose the increasing demands from the United States and Russia to hold presidential elections in Ukraine. “The country is not ready for them because there are no security conditions. It would be crazy to conduct these activities under martial law,” he said.
Haaland acknowledged that Trump and Putin were putting “tremendous pressure” on Zelensky to hold polls in the coming months. He said the Kremlin was trying to “destabilize” the situation in Ukraine and would not agree to a ceasefire. He added that there were many legal and practical obstacles to holding a vote, not least the issue of how international observers could participate.
He said: “Doubts about the government’s legitimacy are a Kremlin play and, unfortunately, President Trump has followed suit. Political innovation is needed, but elections can only be held when the war is over and security conditions permit.”
