US special envoy Steve Witkoff said talks between Ukraine and Russia had “brought about meaningful progress” to end the war, as both sides prepared for a second day of negotiations in Geneva on Wednesday.
However, hopes of a breakthrough remain low, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying it “was not fair” that US President Donald Trump keeps asking his country to compromise, adding that “peace wouldn’t be achieved if victory is handed to Russia”.
US President Donald Trump has recently suggested it is up to Ukraine to ensure talks in Switzerland are successful, without mentioning Russia.
The Kremlin has not wavered from its maximalist demands for Ukrainian territory.
“President Trump’s success in bringing both sides of this war together has brought about meaningful progress, and we are proud to work under his leadership to stop the killing in this terrible conflict,” Witkoff wrote on X after the first day of talks.
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Zelensky has repeatedly said his country is being asked to make disproportionate compromises compared to Russia.
Russia occupies roughly 20% of Ukraine, including large parts of the eastern Donbas region. The Kremlin wants Ukraine to hand over the rest of the region, which Ukraine has ruled out.
Ukraine says robust security guarantees from the West, including the US, must come before any settlement with Russia can be agreed upon.
Zelensky told the Axios website on Tuesday it was “not fair” that Trump kept calling on Ukraine to broker a deal, adding: “I hope it is just his tactics and not the decision.”
In a statement on social media on Tuesday evening, top Ukrainian negotiator Umerov said the first day of talks focused on “practical issues and the mechanics of possible solutions”.
In a video address shortly afterwards, Zelensky stated that Ukraine was prepared to refrain from carrying out strikes, as proposed by the US to both Kyiv and Moscow.
“We don’t need war,” he said, stressing that Ukrainians were “defending our state, our independence”.
“We are also ready to quickly move towards a worthy agreement to end the war. The question is only for the Russians: What do they want?”
The talks are the third round of trilateral negotiations.
Russia’s state news agency RIA quoted a source saying that Tuesday’s negotiations, which lasted six hours, had been tense and took place in different bilateral and trilateral formats.
The talks are being mediated by Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the US president’s son-in-law.
On the Russian side, President Vladimir Putin’s aide Vladimir Medinsky is the top negotiator.
The negotiations are being held a week before the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
