The United States’ special envoy for West Asia, Steve Witkoff, said on Tuesday (local time) that talks between Russia and Ukraine had “made meaningful progress” towards ending the four-year war, the BBC reported.
Witkoff’s remarks came as the two sides prepared for a second day of talks in Geneva, Switzerland on Wednesday (local time). After the first day of talks ended, Witkoff wrote in a post on X: “President Trump’s success in bringing both sides of this war together has made meaningful progress, and we are proud to work under his leadership to end the killing in this terrible conflict.
Ukraine says Trump’s demand is unfair
While Witkoff’s remarks paint a positive picture, reports suggest hopes of a breakthrough remain low, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying it was “not fair” that US President Donald Trump kept asking Kyiv to compromise, adding that “peace would not be achieved if victory was handed to Russia”. He further claimed that Kiev is being asked to make unfair compromises compared to Russia.
In an interview with Axios on Tuesday (local time), Zelenskyy said it was “not fair” that Trump is still calling on Ukraine to broker a deal, adding: “I hope it’s just his tactics and not his decision.
Ukraine has also argued that security guarantees from Western countries, including the US, should come before any settlement with Russia can be agreed.
More recently, Trump put the onus on Zelenskyi and Ukraine to ensure that the Geneva talks succeed; However, he left out Russia. On the other hand, the Kremlin has not changed its position on maximalist demands for Ukrainian territory. Moscow currently occupies approximately 20% of Ukraine, which includes large parts of the Donbas region, located in the eastern part of the country. The Kremlin wants Ukraine to hand over the rest of the region as well, a demand that Kiev has consistently rejected.
Ukrainian leader on the first day of negotiations
After the first day of talks, which ended on Tuesday (local time), Ukraine’s top negotiator Umerov said the talks had focused on “practical issues and the mechanics of possible solutions”.
Following this, Zelenskyy said in a video message that Kyiv would refrain from carrying out strikes, as suggested by Washington to Kyiv and Moscow.
Moreover, he said that they do not need a war, and Ukrainians are only defending “our state, our independence.” “We are also ready to move quickly to a dignified agreement to end the war. The question is only for the Russians: What do they want?”
The talks were the third round of trilateral talks and came days before the fourth anniversary of the war. RIA, Russia’s state news agency, cited a source as saying Tuesday’s six-hour talks were tense and held in a mix of bilateral and trilateral formats.