Munich, Germany. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he hopes U.S.-brokered peace talks next week in Geneva will be serious and substantive, while voicing concern that Ukraine is being asked too often to make concessions.
Expectations for Geneva talks
Zelenskiy said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference that he hoped the trilateral meetings next week would be serious, substantive and helpful, but added that it sometimes feels like the sides are talking about completely different things.
Pressure and concessions
Zelenskiy said he was feeling “a little bit” of pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said on Friday that Zelenskiy should not miss the “opportunity” to make peace soon.
He said Americans often return to the topic of concessions and that too often those concessions are discussed only in the context of Ukraine, not Russia.
Role of the United States and Europe
Zelenskiy said he hoped the United States would stay involved in the negotiations and that there would be an opportunity for Europe, which he said was currently sidelined, to play a bigger role.
He has previously expressed concern that U.S. congressional mid-term elections could focus the Trump administration on domestic political issues after the summer.
Recent talks and Russian delegation change
Ukraine and Russia have held two recent rounds of talks brokered by Washington in Abu Dhabi, which were described by the sides as constructive but did not produce major breakthroughs.
Russia said its delegation to Geneva would be led by Putin adviser Vladimir Medinsky, a change from Abu Dhabi where Russia’s team was led by military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov. Ukrainian sources have previously criticised Medinsky’s handling of the talks, accusing him of delivering history lessons to the Ukrainian team instead of engaging in substantive negotiations.
What do you expect to come from the Geneva peace talks next week?