U.S.-brokered Ukraine-Russia talks conclude with little to show, Zelenskyy accuses Putin of buying time

U.S.-brokered peace talks between Ukraine and Russia concluded Wednesday in Geneva after only about two hours on the second day of negotiations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said progress towards a deal will end Russia’s four-year war against his country was “unequal” and accused Moscow of buying time.

“Russia is trying to prolong negotiations that could have reached the final stage,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post on Wednesday, reiterating his long-held stance that Ukraine’s sovereignty and internationally recognized borders were non-negotiable.

The two-day talks in Switzerland focused mainly on territorial issues, which have been the main obstacle to a peace deal for many months.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no willingness to abandon his demand that Ukraine formally and permanently cede occupied territory in eastern Ukraine as part of a peace deal.

Trump has pressed Ukraine and Russia to reach a deal, and has suggested that kyiv may have to give up some of its territory in exchange for peace, even though Zelenskyy and America’s NATO allies repeatedly warned that such a concession would set a dangerous precedent, sending a message that Putin was being rewarded for unilaterally invading a neighbor.

On Monday, President Trump called the talks in Geneva “big” and told reporters on Air Force One that “Ukraine better come to the table, fast.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that “the main issues concern both the territories and everything else related to the demands we have put forward.”

Russia is pushing for full control of eastern Ukraine’s industrial heartland, the Donbas region, where fighting has raged since 2014, first between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists, and for at least the past four years, between Russian and Ukrainian forces.

Zelenskyy said in an interview with Axios that he is willing to discuss a troop withdrawal for the creation of an internationally monitored neutral zone, but has consistently rejected Russia’s claim to sovereignty about the Donbas.

He said the Ukrainian people would never support a withdrawal from the region if it meant handing over the territory to Russia.

“Emotionally, people will never forgive this. Ever,” he told Axios. “They’re not going to forgive me… they’re not going to forgive me.” [the U.S.]”.

The head of the Russian delegation in Geneva, Putin’s close confidant Vladimir Medinskiy, called this week’s discussions “difficult, but serious,” according to Russia’s state news agency RIA.

Mediskiy told reporters after the meetings that new negotiations would take place soon, without providing a timetable.

Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said Wednesday that “there is progress” but added that “this is complex work that requires alignment between all parties and sufficient time.”

Zelenskyy also highlighted his view that European nations should play a more direct role in the negotiations.

“We consider Europe’s participation in the process to be of vital importance for the further successful implementation of fully possible agreements,” he said in a social media post. “Ukraine has no doubt that the partners are capable of ensuring the constructiveness of the negotiation process and, therefore, a worthy result.”

The Ukrainian leader has long called for clear guarantees of protection for his country against any future Russian aggression as part of a peace deal, which would likely involve European commitments backed by the United States.

He has said that such guarantees can and should be set in stone before drawing conclusions on the most contentious territorial issues.

“Our American friends are preparing security guarantees. But they said: first this exchange of territories, or something like that, and then security guarantees. I think, first, security guarantees. Second, we will not give up our territories because we are ready for a compromise. What kind of compromise are we ready for? Not for the compromise that gives Russia the opportunity to quickly recover and re-occupy us,” he told Axios. “This is something important.”

Delegations from Ukraine and Russia met in Abu Dhabi in January for a previous round of talks mediated by the United States. That round led to the first prisoner exchange between the countries in five months.

Zelenskyy said in a social media post on Wednesday that another exchange could happen soon. If it does, it may be the only tangible outcome of this week’s talks in Geneva.