Zelenskyy says US too often' pushes Ukraine, not Russia, for concessions

"In his speech, Zelenskyy said he hoped the trilateral talks in Geneva on Tuesday and Wednesday will be serious, substantive and helpful for all of us. But honestly, sometimes it feels like the sides are talking about completely different things, Zelenskyy said. The Americans often return to the topic of concessions, and too often those concessions are discussed only in the context of Ukraine, not Russia, he said."

"The Ukrainian leader also argued that there would be a greater chance of ending the war if European countries had a seat at the negotiating table, something Moscow has opposed. Europe is practically not present at the table. It's a big mistake to my mind, he said. And Ukraine, he said, keeps returning to one simple point. Peace can only be built on clear security guarantees. Where there is no clear security system, war always returns, Zelenskyy said."

Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed hope for United States-brokered trilateral peace talks in Geneva next week while warning that Kyiv faces pressure to make concessions. Two prior rounds mediated by Washington in Abu Dhabi were described as constructive but yielded no breakthroughs. Zelenskyy said the Americans often focus on concessions for Ukraine rather than Russia and urged European countries to have a seat at the negotiating table. He insisted that peace requires clear security guarantees because absent a security system war returns. Zelenskyy accused Moscow of stalling, criticized Russian demands for full Ukrainian withdrawal from parts of Donetsk, and rejected a unilateral pullback.

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