Gavriil Grigorov / Sputnik / Kremlin / EPA
Vladimir Putin e Steve Witkoff
First day of trilateral negotiations between Ukraine, Russia and the USA, in Geneva. 6 hours ahead, according to Steve Witkoff.
This Tuesday was the first day of trilateral negotiations between a Ukraine, a Russia and the USA, in Geneva, on the end of .
The France-Presse news agency, citing a source close to the Russian delegation, wrote that the Negotiations “were very tense” and lasted six hoursbehind closed doors, in a hotel in the Swiss city.
The negotiations took place with a dozen Ukrainian participants, led by former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and , the chief of the General Staff, and Russians, headed by presidential advisor Vladimir Medinski, as well as Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Steve Witkoff, envoy of the US President, praised the “significant progress” at this meeting: “The success of the President [dos Estados Unidos, Donald] Trump in bringing together the two sides of this war brought a significant progress.”
“Both sides agreed to inform their respective leaders and continue working towards an agreement”, added the envoy, on the social network.
Rustem Umerov said on messaging platform Telegram that “debates focused on practical questions and us mechanisms to arrive at possible solutions.”
“After the plenary session, work continued in working groups by priority areas”, with meetings of the “political and military blocs”, added the Ukrainian leader.
The former Defense Minister specified that he had reported these discussions “during a separate meeting with representatives of North American and European partners”.
In Geneva, they were also present representatives from Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy.
The talks in Geneva came hours after Russia’s armed forces launched a new attack against several regions of Ukraine, using cruise missiles and drones.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, considered this a “massive attack”, “deliberately calculated to do the greatest possible harm to our energy sector”.
This attack happened a week before the fourth anniversary of the start of the invasion, launched on February 24, 2022.
Ukrainians and Russians are expected to resume negotiations in Geneva today, under the mediation of the United States, to try to find a solution to four years of conflict.
The parties are working on the basis of the North American agreement released a few months ago, which includes, in particular, territorial concessions from Ukraine in exchange for Western security guarantees.
However, negotiations are paralyzed due to the fate of Donbas, the main industrial hub in eastern Ukraine. Moscow demands that Ukrainian forces withdraw from the areas they still control in the Donetsk region, a demand that Kiev refuses.
The negotiations in Geneva follow two recent rounds of talks in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, which did not produce significant progress.
