"Trump has given both sides until June to reach deal, but future of Donbas industrial heartland remains a sticking point. Russian and Ukrainian envoys are set to engage in a new round of United States-brokered talks next week in Geneva as the war approaches the four-year mark with no apparent compromises on territory in sight. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that the trilateral talks, which follow two earlier rounds in Abu Dhabi, would be held on February 17-18, according to the RIA Novosti news agency."
"As fighting continues along the roughly 1,250-kilometre (750-mile) front line, with Moscow keeping up its assault on Ukraine's power grid and Kyiv launching long-range attacks on war-related targets like oil refineries, the future of Ukraine's Donbas industrial heartland remains a major bone of contention. Russia is pushing for Ukraine to pull out of the fifth of the eastern Donetsk region in the Donbas that it still controls. Ukraine, for its part, has rejected a unilateral pull-back and wants Western security guarantees to deter Russia from re-launching its offensive if a ceasefire is reached."
"Zelenskyy said last week that the US had given the warring parties a June deadline to reach a deal, though US President Donald Trump's previous ultimatums have not resulted in a breakthrough. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, according to many estimates, making the war Europe's deadliest since World War II. Two previous rounds of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, led by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, reportedly focused on military issues, such as a possible buffer zone and ceasefire monitoring."
Russian and Ukrainian envoys will meet in United States-brokered trilateral talks in Geneva on February 17-18, following two prior rounds in Abu Dhabi. The Kremlin and Ukrainian officials confirmed the upcoming talks. The US reportedly set a June deadline for the parties to reach a deal. Heavy fighting continues along a roughly 1,250-kilometre front, with Russian strikes on Ukraine's power grid and Ukrainian long-range attacks on war-related targets such as oil refineries. Control of the Donbas industrial heartland, including Russian demands for withdrawal from parts of Donetsk, remains the primary sticking point. Ukraine rejects a unilateral pull-back and seeks Western security guarantees. Previous talks addressed military issues like buffer zones and ceasefire monitoring.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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