Ukrainian president says next round of war talks with Russia likely in Abu Dhabi in early March, after Geneva meeting with US envoys.
GENEVA: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he expects the next round of talks to end the war with Russia to be held in early March.
He stated the meeting would “most likely” take place in Abu Dhabi following a day of discussions between Ukrainian officials and US envoys in Geneva.
“We need to finalise everything that has been achieved in terms of real security guarantees and prepare for a meeting at the leadership level,” Zelensky said in his evening address.
He added that the trilateral format “can solve a lot”, referring to a potential meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian top negotiator Rustem Umerov said the Geneva talks paid special attention to postwar reconstruction.
“We worked out a document on the restoration of Ukraine in detail with the Americans,” Umerov stated after the six-hour meeting.
The sides “agreed positions that will form the basis for further agreements”, he added.
Russian economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev was present at the heavily guarded venue but there was no indication he met the Ukrainian side.
Russia signalled it would not budge on its demand for full control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told state media it was too early to forecast when a deal would take place.
Hours before the Geneva meeting, Russian forces launched a major attack on Ukraine.
Authorities reported some 420 drones and 39 missiles were fired, wounding more than two dozen people in at least six regions.
The strikes hit an electricity substation in Odesa and a school building in Zaporizhzhia.
“Destruction has been recorded in eight regions, with many private homes and apartment buildings damaged,” Zelensky said.
Russia also announced it had returned the bodies of 1,000 killed Ukrainian soldiers, receiving 35 Russian bodies in exchange.
Talks remain deadlocked over the fate of the Donbas region, the epicentre of the fighting.
Ukraine has rejected Russia’s territorial demands and insists on security guarantees to deter future invasion.