Umerov to hold bilateral talks with Witkoff, Kushner and Bessent in Geneva

Defense Minister Rustem Umerov’s spokeswoman, Diana Davitian, told media the meeting will take place in Geneva, Switzerland.

According to him, the key topics of the talks will be a recovery package for Ukraine and preparations for a trilateral meeting involving Russia, which the Ukrainian side believes could take place in early March.

In addition, Umerov will discuss prisoner exchanges, a matter President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has set as a separate priority.

On Feb. 24, Steve Witkoff said he would allow for a visit by Umerov to Florida in the near future, as well as a trilateral meeting between the delegations of Ukraine, Russia and the United States within the next 10 days.

On Feb. 18, another round of trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States and Russia, the aggressor country, concluded in Geneva. Zelenskyy said the negotiations were difficult and that progress had been made only on military issues. In particular, the sides agreed on ceasefire monitoring to be carried out with U.S. participation.

According to Axios, the talks “hit a dead end” due to Russia’s position. By contrast, U.S. President’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said the meetings “resulted in significant progress.”

Presidential Office chief Kyrylo Budanov said the Geneva trilateral talks were difficult but important and announced that new meetings would take place soon. The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, called the discussions “difficult but businesslike.”

On Feb. 23, Ukrainska Pravda, citing a diplomatic source, reported that at the next trilateral meeting Ukraine, the United States and Russia plan to discuss the management of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant occupied by Russian forces.