The next round of trilateral negotiations among Ukraine, Russia, and the United States does not yet have a precise date or venue. According to the Ukrainian delegation, work on the trilateral consultation format is ongoing, but the specific details have not yet been determined.
“The dates and venues of the next round of trilateral negotiations are not yet known”
– Source in the Ukrainian delegation
Progress of preparations and expectations regarding the date
On March 3, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed hope that the US strike on Iran would not affect the trilateral talks with Russia. He also noted that the next round is likely to take place on March 5 or 6.
The trilateral talks in Geneva took place on February 17–18. On February 17, in Geneva, the first day of another round of talks between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia regarding ending the war took place. Following the first day, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov said that delegations continued working in groups along separate directions, focusing on practical issues and mechanisms for possible solutions.
On the same day, Umerov held a separate meeting in Geneva with representatives of the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, where they discussed the day’s results and agreed on approaches for further steps.
Special envoy of the President of the United States Donald Trump Steve Vitkoff summarized the first day as “significant progress” and noted that the sides agreed to update information to their leaders and continue work on a peace agreement.
On February 18, the second day of talks took place. The head of the Ukrainian delegation and Secretary of the NSDC Rustem Umerov said that the discussions were “intense and substantive” and covered both political and military trajectories, including security parameters and mechanisms for implementing possible decisions. According to him, a number of issues were clarified, others remained at an additional coordination stage, and the next step would be to reach a consensus to hand over the crafted decisions to the presidents.
“intense and substantive”
– Rustem Umerov
The head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky named this round “difficult but businesslike”.
“difficult but businesslike”
– Vladimir Medinsky
After this Zelensky stressed that during the talks the sides showed “constructiveness” regarding ceasefire monitoring, and the United States would participate in this process.
“constructiveness”
– Volodymyr Zelensky
Also on February 18, the head of the Office of the President and a member of the Ukrainian negotiating delegation Kyrylo Budanov said that a new meeting is expected in the near future.
As for external dynamics, on February 28 Israel struck Tehran, which provided context for further assessments of the international reaction. Subsequently, U.S. President Donald Trump stated about an open “large combat operation” against Iran aimed at destroying threats from its regime and spurred actions against destructive organizations in the region. He also claimed that this would entail “the destruction of Iran’s missile industry and fleet” and a weakening of its influence on global security.
“a large combat operation”
– Donald Trump
“the destruction of Iran’s missile industry and fleet”
– Donald Trump
On March 1, KVIR reported the start of “the most destructive offensive operation in the history of the Islamic Republic” against Israel and American bases. Trump urged the Iranian regime to renounce such plans and threatened to respond if necessary. On March 2, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the next phase of military actions would be even more devastating. On March 3, according to Iran International sources, the Assembly of Experts elected a new Supreme Leader of the country – Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The near term remains tense, and the date and venue of the future round of negotiations have not been officially disclosed.