The two-day peace negotiations in Geneva between Russia and Ukraine concluded on Wednesday without any breakthrough, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated that he was not satisfied with the result, and Washington claimed that there was “meaningful progress.”

The Moscow and Kyiv officials indicated that the talks at Geneva were challenging. The delegations indicated that they would reunite, though they did not give a date at the end, and Zelensky and the white house indicated that they could do so soon.

The United States President Donald Trump has put constant pressure on Ukraine to strike a deal that may require it to make some painful concessions as Russian forces continue to hit its power facilities and gradually take over the battlefield.

In his evening video address, Zelenskiy said: “As of today, we cannot say that the effect is adequate.”

“The military debated on some of the issues in a serious, substantial way. Delicate political issues, potential compromises and the requisite encounter between leaders are yet to be adequately tackled.”

He noted that it was significant that European officials had attended Geneva and said that it was correct to have another round of discussions in the next few months.

Zelenskiy explained in a YouTube interview with journalist Piers Morgan that the negotiators had come closer to an agreement on how the ceasefire to conclude the war would be monitored.

“They are nearer to the conclusion of the paper, where all the details will be written, how it can, or it must be watched after, immediately after the ceasefire,” he said.

He added that “the painful and hard question of territory can be resolved through a summit of leaders of the two nations.”

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told AP that there was progress that was meaningful and that there were promises that they would work together to reach a peace deal.

According to Leavitt, “another set of talks would follow. However, she stated that Trump considered the scenario, almost four years into the conflict, as very unjust, not only to the Russians’ and Ukrainians’ innocent lives but also to U.S. taxpayers who have contributed to support Ukraine with their money.”

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated that the Russian negotiating team would brief President Vladimir Putin on the negotiations and admitted that the head of the delegation had described the negotiations as being tough.

When the two sides gathered the following day again with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and the son-in-law of Trump present, Zelenskiy posted on X that Russia was “attempting to prolong the process, which already could have moved to the final phase.”

The talks were interrupted a few minutes after his statement by the delegations.

DIFFICULT, BUT BUSINESS-LIKE

The head of the Russian negotiating team, who was once the culture minister, Vladimir Medinsky, termed the negotiations as “challenging, yet business-like.”

A representative of the negotiator of Kyiv confirmed that Medinsky spent almost two hours speaking to the Ukrainians after the official negotiation.

According to a spokesperson of Zelenskiy, the formal component of the negotiations was about the territory in eastern Ukraine and the destiny of the Russian-held nuclear plant of Zaporizhzhia, which remains a thorn in the side.

Moscow would prefer Ukraine to surrender the eastern part of Donetsk, around 20 per cent, that the Russian troops have failed to conquer, a move that Kyiv has so far declined.

Kyiv, in its turn, would like to control Zaporizhzhia, the largest nuclear plant in Europe, and run it by the U.S and Ukraine, which Russia does not view as acceptable.

It will be the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Russia, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions of people, and devastated Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages. Russia does not admit purposeful attacks on civilians.

In the past couple of days, Trump has twice indicated that Kyiv has to ensure that a deal is struck soon. On Monday, he informed reporters: “Ukraine needs to get to the table. That’s all I’m telling you.” 

ZELENSKIY: Concessions in unfairness.

Zelenskiy stated that it was not fair that Trump continued to publicly ask Ukraine, rather than Russia, to make concessions in the interview with the U.S. news source Axios.

Zelenskiy also stated that any plan that involved Ukraine surrendering territory that was not defeated by Russia in the east would be voted down in a referendum.

Kyiv seeks powerful security assurances from the U.S. in case of future Russian assaults under the condition of a peace agreement.

The Geneva gathering is preceded by two rounds of negotiations that were brokered by the U.S in Abu Dhabi but failed to produce any breakthrough.

Zelenskiy and Umerov have both gone out of their way to thank the U.S. in the last couple of weeks with regard to its role in mediating the situation.

Zelenskiy has also taken issue with the fact that U.S congressional elections in November would divert the attention of Washington from ending the conflict.

Generally, Russia is located on approximately a quarter of the national territory of Ukraine, including Crimea, which was occupied and subsequently annexed in 2014.

It is making a gradual advance along the 1,200 km (750-mile) length of the front; analysts indicate it has made 1.5% of Ukraine since the beginning of 2024.