What are the “main issues” that will be discussed by Moscow and Kiev in Geneva, where Putin's confidant also arrives
Vladimir Putin (left) and Vladimir Medinsky (right). Photo source: Gavriil Grigorov / Zuma Press / Profimedia
The Kremlin said on Monday that major issues, including sensitive territorial issues, would be discussed in a new round of direct Russia-Ukraine talks to be held in Geneva this week, according to Reuters and TASS.
The talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States are due to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, at a time when Kiev is under pressure from the US to reach a deal and as Moscow demands that it cede the entire Donbas region.
The Kremlin has confirmed that the Russian delegation will be led by Vladimir Medinsky, an adviser and confidant of President Vladimir Putin.
“This time, the idea is to discuss a wider range of issues, including, in fact, the main ones. The main issues concern both the territories and everything related to the claims we have made,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Peskov stressed that Vladimir Medinski's presence is “now necessary,” according to state media.
He said the head of military intelligence, Igor Kostiukov, would also attend the talks and that Putin's special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, would be part of a separate working group on economic issues.
Moscow's delegation, “slightly expanded”
According to a source quoted by TASS, the Russian delegation at the Geneva negotiations “will be slightly expanded”, which will include approximately 20 people.
US President Donald Trump has said he is keen to mediate an end to a conflict he has called a senseless “bloodbath”, although Russia and Ukraine remain far from agreeing on key issues, including territory, who will control the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, and the role of any Western troops in post-war Ukraine.
Medinski has led the Russian delegation since last year's negotiations in Istanbul, but has been replaced for the last two direct Ukraine-Russia-US rounds held in the United Arab Emirates. He was criticized by Kiev's negotiators after earlier talks, according to Politico.
In an interview given at the end of January to HotNews, Mihailo Podoliak, President Zelenski's adviser, said that the atmosphere during the negotiations is different since Russia replaced Medinski as the head of the Moscow delegation.
At previous negotiations, he warned that Russia was prepared to continue fighting indefinitely and threatened further territorial advances if Kiev refused Moscow's demands.
