Negotiators from Ukraine and Russia resumed a second day of peace talks in Geneva on Wednesday, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed concerns about what he described as undue pressure from the United States to accelerate a settlement in the four-year conflict.
Speaking in an interview with Axios, Zelenskiy said it was “not fair” that U.S. President Donald Trump publicly urged Ukraine, rather than Russia, to make concessions in negotiations. Zelenskiy added that any plan requiring Ukraine to cede territory not currently occupied by Russian forces in the eastern Donbas region would be rejected if put to a national referendum.
“I hope it is just his tactics and not the decision,” Zelenskiy said, while thanking Trump for his peacemaking efforts. He clarified that discussions with U.S. negotiators, including envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, did not involve the same public pressure.
Ukraine’s lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, stated that Tuesday’s session focused on “practical issues and the mechanics of possible decisions,” without giving further details. Russian officials have yet to comment on the Geneva talks, though Russian news agencies reported the negotiations as “very tense” and lasting six hours across bilateral and trilateral formats.
Before the talks began, Umerov tempered expectations, emphasizing that the Ukrainian team was working “without excessive expectations.” Zelenskiy, in his nightly address, said he awaited a report from his team, stating, “We are ready to move quickly toward a worthy agreement to end the war. The question for the Russians is: Just what do they want?”
The Geneva meeting follows two prior U.S.-brokered rounds in Abu Dhabi, which ended without major breakthroughs due to persistent disagreements over territory control in eastern Ukraine. Early Wednesday, Witkoff hailed Trump’s role in facilitating dialogue, tweeting that the U.S. efforts had “brought about meaningful progress,” with both sides agreeing to update their leaders and continue pursuing a deal.
