The three-way cease-fire talks among the United States, Ukraine and Russia, held in Geneva, Switzerland, on the 17th–18th (local time), ended without any gains.
According to Russia's Tass news agency and others, both Ukraine and Russia said the talks were "difficult" and noted they would meet again soon. The Geneva meeting resumed on the 17th and ended much earlier than the day before.
Vladimir Medinsky, a Kremlin aide who led the Russian delegation, said the talks were "difficult but substantive," but added that no results were produced.
Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov confirmed to reporters that the two-day talks had concluded, dpa reported. He said the discussions were "intense and substantive," adding, "There was progress, but at this stage we cannot announce details."
Kyrylo Budanov, chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, also wrote on Telegram, "The Geneva round of negotiations has ended. The discussions were difficult but important," adding, "Together with our team, we are preparing for the next meeting to be held soon."
The United States, Russia and Ukraine held their first three-way talks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on the 23rd–24th of last month, then moved to Geneva for this three-way negotiation. However, with Russia and Ukraine maintaining hard-line positions on the core territorial issue, the dominant view was that it would be difficult to find a breakthrough this time as well.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that "yesterday's talks were clearly difficult," criticizing that "Russia is trying to delay negotiations that could already have reached the final stage."
Zelensky had expected that humanitarian issues, including the exchange of prisoners of war and the release of civilians, would also be addressed in the talks, but it appears there was no progress in this area either due to the territorial issue.
However, Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy, wrote on X after the previous day's talks that "meaningful progress was made," adding, "Both sides agreed to report to their leaders and continue efforts to reach an agreement."