Ukraine crisis: Bilateral talks end without resolution, trilateral talks set for early March

Bilateral talks between Ukraine and the U.S., as well as Russia and the U.S., concluded on Thursday in Geneva without any specific outcomes being announced.

Following the talks, Ukraine's chief negotiator Rustem Umerov said in a post on X that the objective is to make the next trilateral meeting involving the United States and Russia "as substantive as possible."

Umerov said particular attention during the latest meetings was devoted to Ukraine's economic track and long-term support mechanisms. Together with the Ukrainian government's economic team and American partners, the Ukrainian side conducted a detailed review of a document on Ukraine's recovery.

He said the parties agreed that their respective teams would continue refining the document, with a focus on future reconstruction and the investment plan.

On the same day, Russian President's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev met with U.S. representatives at a local hotel in Geneva and left about two hours later.

Dmitriev declined to comment on the results of the negotiations with U.S. representatives, TASS news agency reported.

After the bilateral talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the trilateral discussions are likely to take place in Abu Dhabi in early March and would aim to prepare the way for a meeting between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia.

"There is now greater readiness for the next trilateral format. Most likely, the next meeting will take place in the Emirates, specifically in Abu Dhabi. We expect the format to take place in early March," Zelenskyy said.

"Everything will have to be finalized. Everything that has been achieved for real security guarantees and preparing a meeting at the leaders' level," Zelenskyy added. 

Earlier rounds of trilateral talks were held in Abu Dhabi on January 23–24 and February 4–5, followed by another round in Geneva on February 17–18. However, these discussions have failed to produce agreements on key issues.

The U.S. has been pressing Ukraine to secure peace in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, but Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart in their positions. Ukrinform reported that Trump told Zelenskyy during a phone call on Wednesday that he wants to end the conflict as quickly as possible, expressing a preference for it within a month.

Despite such pressures, gaps remain between Russia and Ukraine. Chen Yu, deputy director of the Eurasian Studies Institute at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said achieving an end to the conflict within a month would be highly challenging.

Chen further explained that the remaining areas in Donbas are of significant importance to Ukraine, and Ukraine has higher expectations regarding U.S. security guarantees and the role the U.S. plays, making it unwilling to make concessions easily.

On the Russian side, Chen emphasized that accepting the proposal of multiple European countries sending troops as part of Ukraine's security guarantees remains a difficult hurdle for Moscow.

(With input from agencies)