Following a second day of talks between Russia and Ukraine, officials from both countries described the discussions as “difficult.”
On Wednesday, Ukrainian and Russian officials met for a second day of talks in Geneva. The discussions lasted two hours and were significantly shorter than the Tuesday meetings. Vladimir Medinsky, Russia’s top negotiator, described the talks as “difficult but businesslike.”
Ukrainian President Zelensky said, “We can see that progress has been made, but for now, positions differ because the negotiations were difficult.”
The US is mediating the talks. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt gave a more optimistic assessment of the negotiations, telling the press, “meaningful progress made.”
On Tuesday, Zelensky told Axios that the main issue preventing an agreement was control over the Donbas. Ukrainian forces hold around ten percent of the eastern region. Moscow claims that any deal to end the war must include Kiev ceding the Donbas to Russia.
Zelensky asserted that Ukrainians would “never forgive” him and the US if Kiev signed an agreement that included withdrawing from the region.
In recent days, Trump has called on Zelensky to make concessions to facilitate a deal to end the war. The Ukrainian leader told Axios that Trump’s position was “not fair,” and he hoped it was just a “tactic.”
While the talks in Geneva did not result in a deal, Medinsky said the two sides will reconvene for another round of talks soon.
