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FACTBOX: What we know about upcoming round of trilateral talks on Ukraine in Geneva

The negotiations will be held between Russia, Ukraine and the United States

© Maxim Guchek/BelTA/TASS

MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. The next round of negotiations on a Ukrainian settlement will take place on February 17 and 18 in Geneva, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced.

TASS has compiled the main information about the upcoming consultations.

New round

- The next round of talks on Ukraine is scheduled for February 17 and 18 in Geneva, Peskov said.

- The Russian delegation will be headed by Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky.

- The negotiations will be held in a trilateral format between Russia, Ukraine and the United States.

Previous meetings

- The first round of trilateral security consultations involving Russia, Ukraine, and the United States was held on January 23-24 in Abu Dhabi.

- The Russian negotiating group was headed by Igor Kostyukov, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff.

- On February 4-5, in Abu Dhabi, the second round of trilateral negotiations between Russia, the United States, and Ukraine took place.

- Following the talks, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced that Moscow and Kiev had agreed to exchange 314 prisoners of war.

- A TASS correspondent reported that the parties discussed economic matters, the territorial issue and a ceasefire mechanism.

Increased US pressure on Ukraine

- Washington has increased pressure on Kiev, pushing Ukraine to agree to concessions regarding Donbass in talks with Russia, The New York Times reported, citing Ukrainian officials.

- According to the newspaper, Ukraine seeks to obtain security guarantees from the West before making any territorial concessions.

- However, it remains unclear what the guarantees could be, despite years of negotiations and the White House’s active diplomatic efforts in 2025, the NYT noted.

- During the February talks in Abu Dhabi, the US urged Ukraine to hold a presidential election by May 15, the newspaper reported, citing a member of the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament), Yaroslav Yurchishin.

- The Ukrainian lawmaker said Washington threatened to withdraw from the negotiation process if Ukraine was not ready to compromise, including by holding elections.

Russia’s position

- Russia believes the success of the talks hinges on secrecy, which is why Moscow "maintains diplomatic silence," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

- According to the top diplomat, those making negative comments about the Abu Dhabi talks want to derail them.

- Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the trilateral negotiations in Abu Dhabi as constructive and complex work that will continue.

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