Third Round Of Trilateral Ukraine Talks Resumes For Second Day In Geneva

GENEVA, Feb 18 (Bernama) -- The third round of trilateral peace talks, brokered by the US, between Ukraine and Russia, resumed in Geneva on Wednesday after an initial session that lasted more than four hours, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

The negotiations, mediated by Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's special envoy, and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, come a week before the fourth anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war amid continuing attacks.

The Russian delegation is headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, replacing senior military officials who led previous rounds in Abu Dhabi.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, ahead of the meetings, said the talks would address a "wider range of issues," including the "main issues concerning the territories," which he described as central to Moscow's demands.

Ukraine's delegation is led by Rustem Umerov, secretary of the National Security and Defence Council. "We have a framework for work agreed upon by the President of Ukraine (Volodymyr Zelenskyy) and a clear mandate. Security and humanitarian issues are on the agenda," Umerov said earlier.

Confirming the resumption of the talks on Wednesday morning, Umerov said on the US social media company Facebook that talks are taking place in "working groups by areas within the political and military tracks."

"We are working on clarifying the parameters and mechanisms of the decisions discussed yesterday. We are focused on substantive work. We will provide additional information on the results," he added.

Umerov had said late Tuesday that he completed a separate meeting with representatives of the US and European partners, including France, the UK, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, to synchronise approaches for further steps.

Meanwhile, Russian media, citing sources in the Russian delegation, described the negotiations as "very tense," and reported that separate Russian-US contacts also took place alongside the trilateral format.

For the US side, Witkoff posted on X that talks between Ukraine and Russia had "brought about meaningful progress" to end the war.

"President Trump's 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," he wrote.

The talks are being held behind closed doors, with no immediate statement expected.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU