Zelensky hopes for serious, substantive talks with U.S., Russia

Alsharq Tribune-Ahmed Essam 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that he hopes for serious and substantive discussions in the upcoming peace talks with Russia and the United States in Geneva.

"We truly hope that the trilateral meetings next week will be serious, substantive, and helpful for all of us," Zelensky said during a speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, according to a report on the Ukrainian president's official website.

Zelensky said that the United States, in trilateral negotiations, has too often discussed the topic of concessions with Ukraine, not Russia.

"The Americans often return to the topic of concessions -- and too often those concessions are discussed in the context only of Ukraine -- not Russia," he said.

In late January and early February, two rounds of security working group talks involving representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the United States were held in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Ukraine and Russia agreed to a large-scale prisoner exchange but failed to achieve substantive breakthroughs on core issues such as territorial arrangements and a ceasefire.

The next round of talks will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday in Geneva. The Russian delegation will be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

Ukraine's chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, wrote on Facebook that the Ukrainian negotiating team has been formed, incorporating the military, political and security components of the process.