Ukraine hopes US-Russia talks will pave way for leader-level negotiations

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he expects March peace talks with the United States and Russia to open the door for direct negotiations at "the leaders level".

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, 24 February 2026.

Photo: REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko (cropped)

Writing on X after a phone call with Donald Trump, Zelensky said a further trirateral meeting is planned for early March.

"We expect this meeting to create an opportunity to move talks to the leaders’ level."

He said the US president has backed "this sequence of steps", describing it as "the only way to resolve all the complex and sensitive issues and finally end the war".

I just spoke with @POTUS Donald Trump. Envoys of President Trump – Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were also on the call. Our teams work intensively and I thanked them for all their work and for their active involvement in the negotiations and the efforts to end the war.

We also… pic.twitter.com/OrEScsVf3I

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 25, 2026

The two leaders also discussed matters set to be raised at Thursday's Ukrainian-American meeting in Geneva.

Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner took part in the call.

It came a day after Ukraine marked the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion, which was launched on 24 February 2022.

Zelensky has repeatedly expressed willingness to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin directly, though Moscow has so far stalled on agreeing to a summit.

(ał)

Source: IAR