Negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the USA. Main

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On February 23 in Geneva, US representatives met with the Russian delegation - the parties discussed the possibility of a new multilateral treaty on nuclear arms control. This was reported by Reuters with reference to a senior representative of the US State Department. Already on February 24, Washington is planning similar consultations with the Chinese side.

According to the American official, the United States previously held bilateral negotiations with Great Britain and France, also permanent members of the UN Security Council. “Moving discussions to the level of the five permanent members of the Security Council was the next logical step,” he noted, adding that Washington is cautiously optimistic.

The reason for new negotiations was the expiration on February 5, 2026 of the START III or New START treaty - an agreement between Russia and the United States on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive weapons Strategic offensive weapons are nuclear missiles and long-range bombers capable of striking the territory of another state. The START III Treaty limited the number of such delivery vehicles and warheads for Russia and the United States . Vladimir Putin proposed extending it for another year, but Donald Trump advocated the development of a new, broader agreement with the participation of not only Moscow, but also Beijing.

Chinese Ambassador for Disarmament Affairs Shen Jian previously stated that Beijing does not yet intend to join new negotiations on nuclear disarmament with Russia and the United States. It is still unknown whether the current meetings will remain at the level of consultations or develop into full-fledged negotiations.

The situation was further aggravated by US statements that China allegedly conducted a secret nuclear test in June 2020. Shen Jian categorically denied these accusations.

When will the next stage of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine take place?

The next round of negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the United States may take place on February 26–27 in Geneva. The head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, told Suspilna about this. According to him, the parties are “approaching the moment when final decisions will have to be made,” and the key topic remains the issue of territories. Russia, as Budanov notes, continues to insist on control over Donbass. Ukraine also expects to conduct a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war this week.

TASS, citing a source, previously wrote that negotiations could resume on February 26. The previous stage, namely the meeting on February 17–18, according to Axios, reached a deadlock due to the position of the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky. The Russian side, according to the publication’s interlocutors, expressed dissatisfaction with the public statements of Vladimir Zelensky, accusing him of trying to increase his popularity before possible elections.

In an interview with Axios, Zelensky said that he had instructed his team to raise the issue of a personal meeting with Vladimir Putin, considering it a potentially more effective way to achieve progress on the territorial issue. According to media reports, at the negotiations the United States proposed an option in which Ukraine would withdraw troops from Donbass, and the territory would receive the status of a “free economic zone.” Zelensky stated that he was ready to discuss such a format only under the condition of a symmetrical withdrawal of Russian troops.

The Kremlin has not confirmed the date of the next round. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Interfax that the exact timing has yet to be agreed upon.

Recrimination

On February 24, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service stated that London and Paris were allegedly discussing the possibility of transferring nuclear technologies or individual components to Ukraine. According to the SVR, the presence of an atomic or “dirty” bomb in Kyiv could strengthen its position in the negotiations and influence the conditions for ending the war. Ukraine, Great Britain and France did not publicly comment on these statements.

At the same time, the nuclear arsenals of France and the UK are not comparable to Russia’s: according to SIPRI estimates , France has about 290 warheads, the UK has about 225, while Russia has about 5,500–5,900.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called such information “extremely dangerous” and said it would be taken into account during negotiations. Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev wrote in his telegram channel that in the event of the transfer of nuclear weapons to Ukraine, Russia reserves the right to a “symmetrical response” - up to and including the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons against targets that it considers a threat.

Earlier, Vladimir Zelensky, in an interview with the Financial Times , called Vladimir Putin a “bad actor” and accused Russia of imitating the negotiation process. According to him, Ukraine does not need a pause, but is seeking a full end to the war with mandatory security guarantees. Zelensky added that he considers what is happening to be the “beginning of the end” of the war, however, without real steps from Moscow, a ceasefire, in his opinion, is impossible.