Russian and Ukrainian officials meet in Geneva for US-brokered talks after almost 4 years of war

GENEVA — Delegations from Moscow and Kyiv met in Geneva on Tuesday for another round of U.S.-brokered peace talks, a week before the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

However, expectations for any breakthroughs in the scheduled two days of talks in Switzerland were low, with neither side apparently ready to budge from its positions on key territorial issues and future security guarantees, despite the United States setting a June deadline for a settlement.

The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umerov, posted photos on social media of the three delegations at a horseshoe-shaped table, with the Ukrainian and Russian officials sitting across from each other. U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner sat at the head of the table in front of U.S., Russian, Ukrainian and Swiss flags.

''The agenda includes security and humanitarian issues,'' Umerov said, adding that Ukrainians will work ''without excessive expectations.''

Tough talks expected

Discussions on the future of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory are expected to be particularly tough, according to a person familiar with the talks who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to talk to reporters.

Russa is still insisting that Ukraine cede control of its eastern Donbas region.

During previous talks in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, military leaders looked at how a demilitarized zone could be arranged and how everyone's militaries could talk to one another, the person added.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov cautioned against expecting developments on the first day of talks as they were set to continue on Wednesday. Moscow has provided few details of previous talks.

Trump describes the talks as ‘big'

Ukraine's short-handed army is locked in a war of attrition with Russia's bigger forces along the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile) front line. Ukrainian civilians are enduring Russian aerial barrages that repeatedly knock out power and destroy homes.

The future of the almost 20% of Ukrainian land that Russia occupies or still covets is a central question in the talks, as are Kyiv's demands for postwar security guarantees with a U.S. backstop to deter Moscow from invading again.

''Ukraine better come to the table fast,'' he told reporters late Monday as he flew back to Washington from his home in Florida.

It wasn't immediately clear what Trump was referring to in his comment about Ukraine, which has committed to and taken part in negotiations in the hope of ending Russia's devastating onslaught.

Complex talks as the war presses on

The Russian delegation is headed by Russian President Vladimir Putin's adviser Vladimir Medinsky, who headed Moscow's team of negotiators in the first direct peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul in March 2022 and has forcefully pushed Putin's war goals. Medinsky has written several history books that claim to expose Western plots against Russia and berate Ukraine.

The commander of the U.S. military — and NATO forces — in Europe, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, and Secretary of the U.S. Army Dan Driscoll will attend the meeting in Geneva on behalf of the U.S. military and meet with their Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, said Col. Martin O'Donnell, a spokesman for the U.S. commander.

Zelenskyy said tens of thousands of residents were left without heating and running water in the southern port city of Odesa. He said Moscow should be ''held accountable'' for the relentless attacks, which he said undermine the U.S. push for peace.

''The more this evil comes from Russia, the harder it will be for everyone to reach any agreements with them. Partners must understand this. First and foremost, this concerns the United States,'' the Ukrainian leader said on social media late Monday.

''We agreed to all realistic proposals from the United States, starting with the proposal for an unconditional and long-term ceasefire,'' Zelenskyy noted.

The talks in Geneva took place as U.S. officials also held indirect talks with Iran in the Swiss city.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's Security Service, or SBU, used long-range drones to strike an oil terminal in southern Russia and a major chemical plant deep inside the country, a Ukrainian security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly told the AP.

Drones also hit the Metafrax Chemicals plan, which manufactures chemical components used in explosives and other military materials, in Russia's Perm region, more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) from the Ukrainian border, according to the official.

___

Burrows reported from London. Associated Press writer Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.

___