Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that the trilateral Ukraine-Russia-US talks yesterday and today in the Swiss city of Geneva were difficult, but an agreement was reached to hold more rounds of meetings, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
"We can see the progress that has been achieved, but for now differences in positions remain because the negotiations were difficult", Zelensky told media representatives in a conversation on the social platform "WhatsApp".
In addition, the Ukrainian head of state accused Russia of trying to delay the peace talks, world agencies reported.
"Yesterday's meetings were really difficult and we can say that Russia is trying to drag out the negotiations, which could already be enter their final stage," Zelensky wrote on the social network "Ex".
The negotiations to end the war in Ukraine lasted about two hours today, informed Russian President Vladimir Putin's advisor - Vladimir Medinsky, who heads the Russian delegation in Geneva.
"As you know, the negotiations lasted two days, and were especially long yesterday and were held in different formats. Today the discussions lasted two hours, they were difficult, but businesslike", Medinsky noted.
The head of the Ukrainian team of negotiators in Switzerland - Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov, announced in turn that the negotiations had led to "progress", Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported.
According to him, the meetings were "intensive and substantive". "We are facing a complex task that requires the consent of all parties and sufficient time. "There is progress, but at this stage no details can be given," the chief Ukrainian negotiator told a small group of journalists, AFP reported.
According to Umerov, the next step would be to "achieve the necessary consensus" to draft a document for consideration by the presidents. "A few points have been clarified, while others require further coordination."
"Our task is to prepare a practical, not just a formal, framework," he added, stressing that for Kiev, "the long-term goal remains unchanged: a just and lasting peace."