US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said Tuesday that Washington-brokered talks between Ukraine and Russia had produced “meaningful progress,” following a third round of trilateral discussions hosted in Switzerland.
“At President Donald Trump’s direction, the United States moderated a third set of trilateral discussions with Ukraine and Russia,” Witkoff wrote on X, thanking Switzerland for being “gracious hosts for today’s meetings.”
Witkoff credited Trump’s involvement with advancing the process, saying: “President Trump’s success in bringing both sides of this war together has brought about meaningful progress, and we are proud to work under his leadership to stop the killing in this terrible conflict.”
He added that both delegations agreed to brief their respective leaders and continue negotiations.
“Both parties agreed to update their respective leaders and continue working towards a deal,” Witkoff said.
Notably, on Tuesday evening, the head of National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine and Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, held a separate meeting with European and US representatives to review the first day of talks in Geneva and coordinate next steps.
“I completed a separate meeting with representatives of the US and European partners – France, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Switzerland,” Umerov wrote on Telegram.
“It is important to maintain a common vision and coordination of actions between Ukraine, the US and Europe. There is an understanding of joint responsibility for the result. Let’s work further,” he added.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address that Ukraine is ready “to move quickly towards a worthy agreement to end the war,” but questioned whether Russia is genuinely interested in peace.
“What do they want?” he added, accusing Moscow of prioritizing missile strikes over “real diplomacy.”
Negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian delegations on Tuesday were “very tense” and lasted six hours, a source close to the Russian side told AFP.
The closed-door session follows two earlier rounds in Abu Dhabi, where only a prisoner exchange was achieved.
One person close to the talks said of the Russians in comments to The Washington Post: “Russia may want peace, but only on its own terms.”
US President Donald Trump on Monday urged Ukraine to move quickly toward a deal, warning Kyiv it had “better come to the table, fast.”
Ahead of the Geneva talks, Ukraine accused Moscow of sabotaging diplomacy with a massive overnight barrage of missiles and drones that killed at least four people and cut power to tens of thousands in the south. Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said the strikes showed Russia’s disregard for peace efforts.
Russia, in turn, claimed Ukraine launched more than 150 drones, sparking a fire at an oil depot in southern Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov cautioned against expecting breakthroughs from the first day of negotiations.
Russia currently occupies about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, and is demanding full control of Donetsk as part of any agreement – including territory they have not been able to conquer in nearly 12 years of war – a condition Kyiv has rejected without firm Western security guarantees.
Despite Russia’s slow territorial advances, its wartime economy is under strain, with growth stalling and oil revenues falling to a five-year low.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces reported their fastest gains in more than two years last week, recapturing 201 square kilometers (78 square miles), according to analysis by the Institute for the Study of War.
Analysts said the counterattacks likely exploited disruptions to Russian Starlink access after Elon Musk announced steps to curb its use.