US, Ukraine hold talks in Geneva to discuss recovery, next round of Russia negotiations
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Ukrainian delegates met U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Geneva as part of the ongoing efforts to broker a peace with Moscow, Ukraine's top negotiator, Rustem Umerov, announced on Feb. 26.
A key point on the agenda is preparations for the next round of trilateral negotiations with Russia, which Washington hopes to broker in the coming weeks.
The U.S. and Ukraine aim "to synchronize positions ahead of this stage," said Umerov, who will be taking part in the discussion alongside Davyd Arakhamia, the parliamentary leader of President Volodymyr Zelensky's Servant of the People party.
Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for the Middle East and the leading negotiator with Russia, and Kushner, the president's advisor and son-in-law, are joining the talks with Ukraine shortly after negotiations with Iran, hosted also in Geneva, amid mounting tensions between Tehran and Washington.
The Ukrainian delegation, which also includes Economy Minister Oleksii Sobolev and his deputy, Darina Marchak, will address economic recovery, the long-debated $800 billion "prosperity package" for Ukraine, and future prisoner exchanges with Russia, according to Umerov.
The delegation later held a joint call with Zelensky "about the results of the meeting and next steps" alongside U.S. officials, Umerov later said in a post to Telegram.
Zelensky later noted progress toward the next stage of trilateral negotiations, saying that the subsequent round of peace talks will likely take place in Abu Dhabi in early March.
"The war must be ended," Zelensky said in a video address, "but unfortunately, everyone now sees that Russia shows no readiness for peace."
During the Geneva talks, both sides discussed mechanisms of long-term support for Ukraine and worked on a document focusing on Ukraine's recovery, he said.
"The next round is being prepared. We are working on finalizing security parameters, economic decisions, and agreed positions that should form the basis for further agreements. The task is to make the next trilateral meeting involving the U.S. and Russia as substantive as possible," Umerov added.
The meeting follows the latest round of negotiations among Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. held in Geneva on Feb. 17–18, which ended without a breakthrough on territorial issues or a ceasefire.
It also occurred shortly after a phone call between Trump and Zelensky on Feb. 25, in which, according to Axios, the U.S. president said he wants an end to the Russia-Ukraine war as soon as possible.
Over the weekend, Witkoff said the U.S. aims to organize the next round of Russia-Ukraine talks within the next three weeks, expressing hopes that the first wartime summit between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin could follow.
The Kremlin dismissed expectations of a near-term summit with Zelensky, saying that a trilateral meeting — also including Trump — should come only in the final stage of talks.
More than a year into Trump-led peace efforts, a final agreement remains elusive as Moscow demands that Ukraine cede the entire Donbas region while continuing to attack Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure.
Kyiv, which still holds roughly a quarter of Donetsk Oblast and limited footholds in Luhansk Oblast — two eastern regions encompassing Donbas — has rejected the territorial demands, calling instead for a ceasefire along the current front line.
