Land in focus at Geneva peace talks between Russia and Ukraine
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Russia is demanding that Ukraine cede land in Donetsk that Moscow has failed to capture.
PHOTO: REUTERS
GENEVA - Representatives of Ukraine and Russia will meet in Geneva on Feb 17 and 18 for a fresh round of US-mediated peace talks
US President Donald Trump is pressing Moscow and Kyiv to reach a deal to end Europe's biggest war since 1945, though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has complained that his country is facing the greatest pressure to make concessions.
Russia is demanding that Ukraine cede the remaining 20 per cent of the eastern region of Donetsk that Moscow has failed to capture – something Kyiv refuses to do.
“This time, the idea is to discuss a broader range of issues, including, in fact, the main ones. The main issues concern both the territories and everything else related to the demands we have put forward,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Feb 16.
The venue has switched to the Swiss lakeside city after Abu Dhabi hosted two rounds of talks that both sides described as constructive but which failed to reach any major breakthrough.
The Geneva round comes just days before the fourth anniversary, on Feb 24, of Russia’s full-scale invasion of its much smaller neighbour.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed, millions have fled their homes, and many Ukrainian cities, towns and villages have been devastated by the conflict.
Russia occupies about 20 per cent of Ukraine’s national territory, including Crimea and parts of the eastern Donbas region seized before the 2022 invasion.
Its recent air strikes on energy infrastructure have left hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians without heating and power during the course of a harsh winter.
Hopes are low for any significant advance
The Kremlin said the Russian delegation would be led by Mr Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin.
However, the fact that Ukrainian negotiators have accused Mr Medinsky in the past of lecturing them about history as an excuse for Russia’s invasion has further lowered expectations for any significant breakthrough in Geneva.
Military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov will also take part in the talks while Mr Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev will be part of a separate working group on economic issues.
Speaking at the annual Munich Security Conference on Feb 15, Mr Zelensky said he hoped the Geneva talks would prove “serious, substantive... but honestly sometimes it feels like the sides are talking about completely different things”.
Kyiv’s delegation will be led by Mr Rustem Umerov, the secretary of Ukraine’s national security and defence council, and Mr Zelensky’s chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov. Senior presidential aide Serhiy Kyslytsya will also be present.
Before the delegation left for Geneva, Mr Umerov said Ukraine’s goal of “a sustainable and lasting peace” remained unchanged.
As well as land, Russia and Ukraine also remain far apart on issues such as who should control the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and the possible role of Western troops in postwar Ukraine.
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will represent the Trump administration at the talks, a source told Reuters. They are also attending talks in Geneva this week with Iran. REUTERS
