Ukrainian and Russian officials are meeting in Geneva on Tuesday and Wednesday for a recent round of peace talks brokered by the United States, with the Kremlin anticipating the discussions will focus on the issue of territory – a major sticking point in the ongoing conflict. The talks represent a continued, though fragile, effort to discover a diplomatic resolution to the largest war in Europe since 1945.
U.S. President Donald Trump is pressing both Moscow and Kyiv to reach an agreement to end the war, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated his country faces “greater pressure” to make concessions.
Russia is demanding Ukraine cede control of areas in the eastern Donetsk region that Moscow has been unable to capture, a demand Kyiv has rejected.
“The goal this time is to discuss a larger number of issues, including the key issues. The key issues concern territories and everything connected with the demands we have place forward,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.
The location of the talks shifted to Geneva after two rounds of discussions hosted in Abu Dhabi were described by both sides as constructive.
Limited Hopes for Breakthrough
The Russian delegation will be led by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin. However, expectations for significant progress in Geneva remain low, as Ukrainian negotiators previously accused Medinsky of lecturing them on history as a justification for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Igor Kostyukov, the head of Russian military intelligence, will similarly participate in the talks, even as Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev will be part of a separate working group focused on economic issues.
Russia currently occupies approximately 20 percent of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean Peninsula and parts of the eastern Donbas region, which Moscow seized before the full-scale invasion in 2022.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Zelenskyy expressed hope that the Geneva talks would be “serious and substantive… but frankly, sometimes the two sides are talking about completely different things.”
The Ukrainian delegation will be headed by Rustem Umerov, the head of the National Security and Defense Council, alongside Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Zelenskyy’s office.
Prior to the Ukrainian delegation’s departure for Geneva, Umerov stated that Ukraine’s goal of “a sustainable and lasting peace” remains unchanged.
In addition to the issue of territory, Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on issues such as control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and the potential role of Western forces in Ukraine after the war.
According to Reuters, U.S. Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will represent the Trump administration at the negotiations.
