Geneva Negotiations Continue as Zelenskyy Rebukes Trump’s Approach

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Geneva: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has publicly criticised U.S. President Donald Trump for exerting what he called “undue” pressure on Ukraine amid trilateral negotiations aimed at ending the nearly four-year-long war with Russia. Zelenskyy’s comments came as delegations from Kyiv, Moscow and Washington met this week in Switzerland.

In an interview published by Axios, Zelenskyy said it was “not fair” that Trump repeatedly called on Kyiv rather than Moscow to make concessions to achieve a peace agreement. He described such rhetoric as more intense than pressure placed on Russia in the same negotiations.

Zelenskyy warned that any proposal requiring Ukraine to relinquish territory beyond what is already held by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region would be rejected by the Ukrainian public if put to a referendum. He said giving up additional land would be emotionally unacceptable and politically damaging at home.

The comments were made as talks in Geneva continued, involving U.S. negotiators including envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s adviser Jared Kushner. Zelenskyy stressed his respect for these interlocutors and acknowledged that discussions with them did not carry the same pressure as Trump’s public comments.

Trump has twice recently suggested that Ukraine needed to take decisive steps at the negotiating table to help reach a peace deal, saying Kyiv should “come to the table fast.” Zelenskyy has thanked U.S. officials for peacemaking efforts while pushing back against what he sees as imbalanced pressure.

While diplomacy continues in Geneva, Zelenskyy reiterated that Ukrainian positions at current front lines should be frozen in any agreement. He has argued that defining peace through such an approach might be more acceptable to Ukrainians than territorial concessions, underscoring the deep domestic stakes involved in the negotiation process.