Political track of Geneva talks deadlocked: Axios learns name of culprit

On Tuesday, February 17, the third round of peace talks between Ukraine and russia, mediated by the United States of America, took place in Geneva. Despite the continuation of the dialogue, the political part of the talks has effectively reached a deadlock. This was reported by Barak Ravid, a journalist for the American publication Axios, on the social network X.

According to the journalist, progress within the political group has stopped due to the positions presented during the meeting by the head of the russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky. This was reported to the journalist by two informed sources. At the same time, the details of the statements or specific formulations that complicated the negotiation process are not disclosed at this time.

The meeting in Geneva on February 17-18 was the third round of trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States and russia aimed at finding ways to resolve the war. This time, the russian side again delegated Vladimir Medinsky as the chief negotiator. He previously led the russian delegation during the negotiations in the spring of 2022, as well as in May 2025.

So far, the parties have not provided any official comments on the reasons for the impasse in the political bloc of the negotiations. The negotiations are ongoing, but their further dynamics will depend on the willingness of the participants to seek compromise solutions on key issues on the agenda.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, a new round of negotiations between Ukraine and the russian federation began in Geneva on February 17 under the mediation of the United States. A member of the Ukrainian delegation, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Rustem Umerov, said that the parties intend to discuss security and humanitarian issues.