Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia ended in Geneva on Wednesday after two days of negotiations marked by disputes over territory and security.
The US-mediated discussions closed after a two-hour session on Wednesday, following six hours of talks on Tuesday held in bilateral and trilateral formats. Both sides said they would meet again, though no date was set.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the negotiations as “difficult” and accused Moscow of slowing the process.
“We can see that some groundwork has been done, but for now the positions differ, because the negotiations were not easy,” he told reporters after the meeting.
Earlier, he said in a post on X that Russia was “trying to drag out negotiations that could already have reached the final stage”.
Zelensky listed the fate of occupied territories in eastern Ukraine and the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as unresolved “sensitive” issues. Russian forces control the plant, which remains a point of dispute.
Zelensky also said any proposal requiring Ukraine to give up territory not captured by Russia would fail in a referendum. In an interview with Axios, he criticised US President Donald Trump for urging Ukraine to make concessions. “I hope it is just his tactics and not the decision,” he said.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who mediated the discussions, said the first day of talks had “brought about meaningful progress”. Writing on X, he said, “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.”
Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov described the meetings as “intensive and substantive”. He said the delegations worked on “practical issues and the mechanics of possible solutions” and clarified several points.
“There is progress but no details can be disclosed at this stage,” he told reporters.
On the Russian side, chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, said the talks were “difficult, but businesslike”. He confirmed that further negotiations would take place “in the near future”.
Russian state media quoted sources describing Tuesday’s session as tense. Officials from both sides declined to outline specific proposals under discussion.
Ukraine has pressed for stronger involvement from European allies. Zelensky said European participation was “indispensable” for implementing any agreement. Representatives from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland attended consultations alongside US officials.
Fighting continued as negotiations proceeded. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 126 attack drones overnight into Wednesday and that 100 were intercepted. Russia’s defence ministry said it shot down 43 Ukrainian drones over several regions and Crimea.
HT