Latest round of trilateral talks on Ukraine ends without agreement on key issues

Days before the fourth anniversary of the start of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the two-day talks among Ukraine, the United States and Russia, marking the third round of trilateral talks this year, concluded in Geneva on Wednesday with no breakthrough on key issues.

The first-day talks lasted six hours in both bilateral and trilateral formats, while the second-day talks lasted two hours, Russian media reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that no agreement on key issues was reached, according to media reports.

"We can see that some groundwork has been done, but for now, positions differ because the negotiations were not easy," Zelensky told reporters on Wednesday.

Zelensky also told Ukrainian media that monitoring of a ceasefire with U.S. participation, as well as sensitive political issues such as Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, were all discussed during the talks.

Ukraine's chief negotiator Rustem Umerov, also Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Secretary, said that the work was intense and subjective.

"There is progress, but no details at this stage," he wrote in a Facebook post.

Umerov said on Facebook that the next stage is to reach the required level of consensus to make well-known decisions for the presidents' consideration. He emphasized that the ultimate goal remains unchanged: a just and sustainable peace.

A separate meeting with representatives of the United States and European countries, including France, Britain, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, was also held on Tuesday, Umerov wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

Describing the talks as difficult but business-like, Russia's presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky noted that a new round of negotiations will be held in the near future. No documents were signed during the talks, RIA Novosti reported Wednesday.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that the Russian delegation had clear instructions to act within the framework of understanding from the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump that was held in the U.S. city of Anchorage, Alaska in August last year.

Two previous rounds of trilateral talks, held in Abu Dhabi on Jan 23-24 and Feb 4-5, did not resolve key territorial issues.

The latest talks focused on key issues including a ceasefire mechanism, security guarantees, humanitarian issues and territorial disputes.

Analysts said that although some limited progress was achieved, the parties' wide gaps on key issues make a major breakthrough in the near term unlikely.

Latest round of trilateral talks on Ukraine ends without agreement on key issues

Hungary and Slovakia announced a suspension of diesel exports to Ukraine on Wednesday.

Hungary has suspended diesel fuel deliveries to Ukraine with immediate effect and will not resume shipments until crude oil transit via the Druzhba pipeline is restored, said Peter Szijjarto, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The suspension will remain in place until Ukraine restarts crude oil deliveries to Hungary through the pipeline, Szijjarto told a press conference following a government meeting.

According to the minister, crude oil transit was halted on Jan 27.

Hungary cannot be expected to guarantee another country's energy security while its own supply is put at risk, said Szijjarto.

He noted that energy cooperation must be based on respect, not pressure.

On the same day, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that the Bratislava-based Slovnaft refinery is halting its diesel exports to Ukraine, and all products will now be reserved for the domestic market.

Fico also warned that Slovakia would cut off power supplies to Ukraine if Kiev continues to sabotage the pipeline.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had earlier said that the Druzhba pipeline was no longer carrying Russian oil to Europe because of a Russian attack. This meant a halt to oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia, which haven't been resumed yet.

However, Hungary accused Ukraine of cutting off power to that part of the pipeline. Fico likewise accused Ukraine of deliberately delaying the pipeline's restart in an attempt to pressure Hungary into dropping its objections to Ukraine's EU accession.

The two countries have asked Croatia to permit Russian oil brought in by sea to transit across Croatian territory.

The Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russian oil through Ukraine to Central Europe, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, has faced repeated disruptions since last year because of damage to energy infrastructure amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

On Wednesday, the Slovak government declared a state of emergency in relation to oil supplies, the News Agency of the Slovak Republic (TASR) reported.

The country will release up to 250,000 tons of oil from national reserves for the Slovnaft refinery, according to a government decision in response to the interruption of oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline.

Hungary, Slovakia suspend diesel exports to Ukraine amid pipeline dispute