Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia ended in Geneva on Wednesday after two days of negotiations marked by disputes over territory and security.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the negotiations as \u201cdifficult\u201d and accused Moscow of slowing the process.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n
\u201cWe can see that some groundwork has been done, but for now the positions differ, because the negotiations were not easy,\u201d he told reporters after the meeting.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Earlier, he said in a post on X<\/a> that Russia was \u201ctrying to drag out negotiations that could already have reached the final stage\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Zelensky listed the fate of occupied territories in eastern Ukraine and the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as unresolved \u201csensitive\u201d issues. Russian forces control the plant, which remains a point of dispute.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, he criticised US President Donald Trump for urging Ukraine to make concessions. \u201cI hope it is just his tactics and not the decision,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who mediated the discussions, said the first day of talks had \u201cbrought about meaningful progress\u201d. Writing on X<\/a>, he said, \u201cPresident Trump\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Ukraine\u2019s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov described the meetings as \u201cintensive and substantive\u201d. He said the delegations worked on \u201cpractical issues and the mechanics of possible solutions\u201d and clarified several points.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n \u201cThere is progress but no details can be disclosed at this stage,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n On the Russian side, chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, said the talks were \u201cdifficult, but businesslike\u201d. He confirmed that further negotiations would take place \u201cin the near future\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Russian state media quoted sources describing Tuesday\u2019s session as tense. Officials from both sides declined to outline specific proposals under discussion.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Ukraine has pressed for stronger involvement from European allies. Zelensky said European participation was \u201cindispensable\u201d for implementing any agreement. Representatives from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland attended consultations alongside US officials.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n