3rd round of trilateral Ukraine talks to continue Wednesday in Geneva

GENEVA

The third round of trilateral peace talks between Ukraine, Russia and the US will continue in Geneva on Wednesday, as the first session on Tuesday concluded.

The negotiations that began in the afternoon continued for over four hours, and came just a week before the fourth anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war.

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

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said ahead of the meeting that 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 was led by Rustem Umerov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.

Security advisers from four European countries, the UK, France, Germany and Italy, are also said to have joined the talks.

Ukrainian officials were expected to push for an energy ceasefire and to clarify how a monitoring mechanism would function if a truce were reached.

Providing an update on the talks, Umerov on Tuesday evening said after the joint session the delegations split up and continued working in groups on specific issues, with discussions focused on practical problems and the mechanics of possible solutions.

"As of today, both the political and military blocs have completed their work. We thank our American partners for their constructive cooperation and willingness to work at a working pace," he said.

Umerov noted that the results of the first day of negotiations in Geneva will be reported to Zelenskyy today, and tomorrow morning the political and military groups will continue their work.

Meanwhile, Russian media, citing sources, described the negotiations as "very tense." Outlets claimed that besides the talks with Ukraine, Russian-US contacts also took place.

In a separate statement, Zelenskyy said he expects a report from the delegation following the first round of talks in Geneva later in the day.

"The team absolutely must raise the issue of the strikes – first of all with the American side, which proposed that both Ukraine and Russia refrain from attacks. Ukraine is ready," he said.

Unilateral withdrawal, meeting with Putin

In an interview to US media outlet Axios, Zelenskyy said Ukrainians will not accept a peace agreement that provides for a unilateral withdrawal from Donbass and the transfer of territories to Russia.

He added that people might support the option of a ceasefire along the current line of contact.

According to him, he instructed his delegation to raise the issue of organizing a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva.

The Kremlin says any meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin is possible in Moscow only.