Final point of the Geneva negotiations. Moscow's conclusion on the “deadline” for ending the war: “We have tasks. We are fulfilling them”

US officials held separate meetings with representatives of Ukraine and Russia in Geneva on Thursday as part of efforts to resolve the war launched by Moscow against the neighboring country in February 2022, according to Reuters and AFP. There are no indications that a discussion has also taken place between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, according to Russian media.

Moscow, which has signaled it will not give up its demand for full control of Donetsk, said it was too early to estimate when a possible peace deal would materialize.

“Have you heard anything from us about deadlines? We don't have any deadlines, we have tasks. We fulfill them,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told state media.

Kiev says the only way to break the deadlock is to hold a meeting between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, and had said before talks with the US in Geneva that it would try to lay the groundwork for such a summit.

On Wednesday, the Kremlin said that a meeting between Putin and Zelensky currently makes no sense.

“Regarding the possibility of organizing a meeting between the Russian president and Zelensky, well, for the moment, let's limit ourselves to remembering his recent statements. (…) And let's ask ourselves the question: does it make sense to organize a summit if the regime in Kiev continues to maintain this position?”, said the spokesman of the Russian presidency, Dmitri Peskov, on public television, according to Agerpres.

Trilateral talks are expected in March, and Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said his country wants to “synchronize its positions” with the United States.

Trump wants war 'over in a month'

In the evening before Thursday's talks in Geneva, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke on the phone with his American counterpart, Donald Trump.

Three sources told Axios that the dialogue — which also included Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — was very friendly and positive.

The Ukrainian leader thanked his American counterpart for all the help and said that only Trump can convince Putin to stop the war.

“Zelensky then said he hoped the war would end this year, and Trump responded that the war has been going on for too long and would like it to end in a month,” one of the sources said. The White House did not respond to Axios' request for comment.

Territorial issues, the main point of disagreement

Russia currently controls about a fifth of Ukraine's territory, including the Crimean Peninsula, which it illegally annexed in 2014.

Both sides have confirmed that the aspects related to the territory represent the main point of disagreement in the negotiations to end the conflict.

According to the Ukrainian president, it is also about the division of the Donetsk region, where the “fortress belt” in the west of the region is under Ukrainian control, as well as about who will retain control of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, a plant currently under Russian control.

“The territorial issue is the most complex and, of course, any serious meeting must be preceded by thorough work at the level of experts,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, commenting on the possibility of bilateral or trilateral summits with the US.