Ukraine and Russia Peace Talks to Resume
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported progress on military and humanitarian issues in peace talks with Russia, but noted that territorial disputes remain a major obstacle. A new round of trilateral talks is scheduled to occur in Geneva within ten days, though Russia is reportedly stalling on firm commitments.
- The current "trilateral" talks involve the United States as a mediator, with President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner representing the U.S. - Recent rounds of these U.S.-mediated talks took place in Abu Dhabi and Geneva. The Abu Dhabi talks in January 2026 resulted in a 157-for-157 prisoner exchange but left key political issues unresolved. - Progress on the military front includes an agreement that the United States would be "primarily responsible" for monitoring a potential ceasefire. Military leaders from all three countries have also discussed the mechanics of establishing a demilitarized zone. - Ukraine's delegation is headed by Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council. The Russian delegation is led by Vladimir Medinsky, a nationalist aide to Vladimir Putin who also headed the Russian team during the 2022 Istanbul peace talks. - The key territorial disagreement centers on Russia's demand for Ukraine to withdraw fully from the Donbas region. Ukraine's position is that a ceasefire should be based on freezing the current front-line positions. - Past negotiation formats included the Trilateral Contact Group, which consisted of Ukraine, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and was responsible for the failed Minsk agreements of 2014-2015. - A controversial 28-point peace plan was reportedly leaked in November 2025, allegedly authored by U.S. and Russian envoys, which proposed capping Ukraine's military and freezing its NATO membership.
