Tuesday, 02 January 2024 12:17 GMT

Switzerland to Host Next Ukraine-Russia-US Peace Talks, Zelenskyy Says


(MENAFN) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Thursday that Switzerland will serve as the venue for the next round of trilateral peace negotiations between Kyiv, Moscow, and Washington — continuing a diplomatic push that has already seen three rounds of talks on Swiss soil.

Speaking in an interview with Piers Morgan published late Wednesday, Zelenskyy described the most recent sessions in Switzerland as significant in conveying the lived reality of a war unfolding on European territory — a point he argued was still not fully appreciated by the international community.

"The next meeting will be also in Switzerland," Zelenskyy said.

The third round of trilateral negotiations took place in Geneva on Feb. 17–18, following which Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky signaled that another meeting in the same format would occur "very soon." Those talks were preceded by two earlier rounds held in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, on Jan. 23–24 and Feb. 4–5 — the latter yielding the first prisoner exchange between Moscow and Kyiv since October.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine's delegation — led by National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov — would return to Kyiv and conduct a more transparent public briefing than the previous one. He acknowledged that momentum on the military track has outpaced progress on political matters, where he noted persistent disagreements among all three parties.

The Ukrainian president also pressed for Europe's formal inclusion in discussions around a potential post-ceasefire monitoring mission, arguing that European representatives must have a seat at the table alongside Russia and the US.

On the broader question of ending the conflict, Zelenskyy made clear that only the highest levels of leadership could resolve the war's most intractable issues.

"I see now the result of our negotiation meetings. As I said, there are some points which are constructive … But I see now that only on the level of leaders we can try to end this war … We can really try to solve … the territorial questions, which are very sensitive and painful and difficult. That's why we speak about security guarantees, because we don't trust (the) Russians," he said.

Zelenskyy further alleged that the US, potentially alongside select European nations, is drafting a "new document" governing relations between NATO and Russia — and warned that Ukraine must not be sidelined from those discussions.

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