Second day of dialogue brings together delegations in working groups, while American envoys talk about ‘significant advances’; Fighting continues and exchanges of accusations mark the process
Representatives of Ukraine and Russia began this Wednesday (18), in Geneva, the second day of peace negotiations, mediated by the United States, whose main emissary highlighted on Tuesday “significant advances” to close the most violent conflict in Europe since World War II.
The talks represent the latest diplomatic effort to halt the fighting. The conflict, which began in February 2022, left hundreds of thousands dead, forced millions of people to flee and caused
This Wednesday, negotiations resumed, organized into “working groups” that address political and military aspects, the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umierov, highlighted on the social network X. A spokesman for the Russian delegation in Geneva confirmed the resumption of negotiations.
The United States government is pressing to bring an end to the war, which is expected to complete four years next week, buts fails to broker an agreement between Moscow and Kiev on the territorial issue.
Two previous rounds of negotiations in Abu Dhabi, also with American mediation, did not register progress.
However, American envoy Steve Witkoff, who represents Donald Trump’s government in the talks in Switzerland, said that the Republican president’s diplomatic efforts represented a step forward in his attempt to end the conflict.
“President Trump’s success in bringing both sides of this war together has brought significant progress, and we are proud to work under his leadership to stop the deaths in this terrible conflict,” he wrote on X, without revealing details.
“The parties agreed to inform their respective leaders and continue working toward an agreement,” Witkoff added.
At the battlefront, fighting continues. The Kiev Air Force reported this Wednesday that, during the night before the new day of dialogues, the Russia launched a ballistic missile and 126 drones against Ukrainian territory. It also stated that more than 100 were shot down.
Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky questioned on Tuesday whether Moscow takes peace talks seriously, while his government is willing “to move quickly towards a worthy agreement to end the war.”
“What do they want?” asked Zelensky, accusing the Kremlin of prioritizing missile attacks and not “real diplomacy”.
Voltage
The first day of talks in Geneva on Tuesday, “it lasted six hours and was very tense“, a source close to the Russian delegation who requested anonymity told AFP.
The Kremlin is represented by nationalist and former Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinski as its main negotiator.
Umierov thanked Washington for mediation and said he had informed European allies about the results of the first round of talks, which, he said, focused on “practical issues and mechanisms of possible solutions” to the conflict.
“I concluded a separate meeting with representatives from the United States and European allies: France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Switzerland,” he wrote on the messaging platform Telegram.
Trump pressured Kiev on Monday for an agreement, saying that “they better come to the table, and quickly”.
Zelensky told Axios on Tuesday that it was “not fair” for the Republican to continue asking Ukraine to negotiate an agreement. He said that lasting peace will not be achieved if “victory” is handed to Russia in this way.
“I hope it’s just a tactic and not a decision,” he added.
Pressure
Russia occupies almost 20% of Ukraine, including Crimea and areas that Moscow-backed separatists had seized before the 2022 invasion.
Moscow pushes to gain full control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region as part of any agreement, and has already threatened to take the area by force if negotiations fail.
Ukrainian forces recently made their fastest advances in two and a half years, regaining 201 square kilometers last week, according to an AFP analysis based on data from the Institute for the Study of War.
*AFP
