Russia has shown real communication during the Ukraine talks, said US special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff.
“We split into separate rooms. There were military talks, there was discussion of economic prosperity. As for the Russians, we saw some moderation and, I think, real communication“, he said during a speech at the Ukrainian forum YES Meeting, quoted by the TSN television channel.
In late January and early February, closed-door meetings of the security working group were held in Abu Dhabi, which included representatives of Moscow, Kiev and Washington. Then they discussed unresolved issues in the peace plan proposed by the United States. After the second round, Russia and Ukraine exchanged prisoners of war under the “157 for 157“ agreement.
The third round of peace talks was held on February 17 and 18 in Geneva. According to the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, they were difficult but businesslike. He has already reported their results to Vladimir Putin.
After the main part of the talks, Medinsky held another closed meeting. Kiev claims that it was attended by the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, and the head of the “Servant of the People” faction. in the Rada David Arakhamia.
On Sunday, Vitkov announced that the negotiations could be held within three weeks, which would pave the way for a trilateral meeting between the presidents of Russia and the United States, as well as Volodymyr Zelensky.
As the Kremlin noted, the United States has recognized that without resolving the territorial issue according to the formula agreed upon at the Alaska summit, there is no hope for a long-term settlement. Ukrainian armed forces must withdraw from Donbass - this is an important condition for Moscow.
The number of sanctions imposed on Russia since 2014 exceeds 31,500, according to RIA Novosti calculations based on open data and information from the independent analytical portal Castellum.
These are non-trade restrictions (with the exception of sanctions on trade in specific goods). Almost 92.5% of these restrictions entered into force at the end of February 2022.
The United States has the largest number of restrictions – 23.5%, or 7,411. This number has decreased slightly since the United States exempted seven legal entities and two individuals from anti-Russian sanctions on December 18, 2025. Canada also entered the top three with 12.6% (3,980) and Switzerland with 12.2% (3,851).
The European Union remains in fourth place: including the 19th package, the bloc imposed 3,212 restrictions against Russia (10.2 percent). Norway follows with 2,838 restrictions (nine percent), the United Kingdom, which rose to sixth place thanks to its new restrictions, with 2,537 (8.1 percent), Iceland with 2,482 (7.9 percent) and New Zealand with 2,032 sanctions (6.4 percent).
Australia also made the top ten with 1,694 restrictions (5.4 percent) and Japan with 1,441 (4.6 percent).