As White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated at the briefing on February 18

The White House said that trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia in Geneva on February 17-18 brought significant progress. According to White House spokesperson Karoline Levitt, both sides agreed to brief their leaders and continue joint work toward a peace agreement; a further round of negotiations is expected in the future.

She also noted that Trump regards the situation, almost four years after the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, as “very unfair not only to Russians and Ukrainians who have lost lives, but also to U.S. taxpayers who provided financial support to Ukraine.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the next round of trilateral talks with the United States and Russia to end Russia’s war against Ukraine will again be held in Switzerland. He said this in an interview with Piers Morgan, published on YouTube on the evening of February 18. He did not give a planned date for the talks, but stressed the importance of holding the talks specifically in Europe.

Earlier, after the talks in Geneva (Switzerland) between Ukraine, the United States and Russia, which lasted February 17-18, Zelensky said that progress was observed in military aspects, but in political spheres there remain “sensitive issues.”

“So far the positions are different, because the talks were not easy… That is, in terms of military progress I heard progress; in terms of political progress there was dialogue, they agreed to move forward, to continue. I did not hear progress there like in the military sense.”

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was “too early” to assess the results of the talks. Speaking to Russian state media after the official talks ended on February 18, Moscow’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said the talks were “difficult but businesslike,” and that further meetings would follow.

Details of the talks are not being disclosed. The talks, which lasted two days in Geneva: February 17-18 – the third round of trilateral meetings held over the past month – were focused on two of the most challenging obstacles on the path to stopping Russia’s war against Ukraine: territorial claims and security guarantees.

The meetings took place a week before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, resulting in the deaths or injuries of nearly two million people on both sides. Despite US mediation efforts to stop the war, Russia showed no willingness to back away from its hard demands, which include Ukraine’s refusal of Donbas territories. Meanwhile, Ukraine insists on strong security guarantees from the US and European allies that could help protect it from future Russian aggression.

“Significant progress has been made on both sides; both sides agreed to brief their leaders and continue joint work toward a peace agreement. So there will be another round of negotiations in the future.”

– Karoline Levitt

“So far the positions are different, because the talks were not easy… In military terms I heard progress; in political terms there was dialogue, they agreed to move forward and continue. I did not hear progress there like in the military sense.”

– President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an interview with Piers Morgan

“too early” to assess the results of the talks

– Dmitry Peskov

“difficult, but businesslike”

– Vladimir Medinsky

Following Geneva, the details of the talks remain confidential, but both sides confirmed the need for further dialogue to seek a peaceful resolution that would ensure security and stability in the region.