Ukraine, Russia and the US to hold new talks on February 17-18

The next round of trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia is scheduled to take place in Geneva on February 17-18.

This was reported by the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) and the head of the Ukrainian delegation Rustem Umerov.

The Ukrainian delegation has already begun preparations for this meeting.

The President of Ukraine determined the preliminary composition of the negotiating group, which included the head of the Presidentʼs Office Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of the General Staff Andriy Hnatov, the head of the “Servant of the People” faction Davyd Arakhamia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Serhiy Kyslytsia, and the deputy head of the State Security Service (SBU) Vadym Skibitsky.

"The team was formed taking into account the military, political, and security components of the process. We will work on substantive solutions within the framework defined by the head of state. The goal remains unchanged — stable and lasting peace," Umerov noted.

Zelensky previously said that the agenda of the trilateral talks would include a US proposal to create a free economic zone as a buffer in the Donetsk region. Zelensky added that both Ukraine and Russia are skeptical of this option. The talks could also touch on proposals for post-war planning and economic issues.

• The previous round of talks between the US, Ukraine and Russia took place in Abu Dhabi on February 4-5. Zelensky called it “constructive”. The parties focused on the mechanisms of the ceasefire and how it would be monitored by the US. But the delegations were unable to finally agree on the details without political decisions at the highest level.
• At those negotiations, the delegations managed to agree on the first prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia in the last five months — 157 Ukrainians returned home.

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