Ukraine talks ‘a step forward’ but road to peace is long, Europe warns

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian delegation was on its way home from Geneva to report on the talks, after which the government would decide on next steps.

European officials said Monday they were comforted by the outcome of discussions on U.S. peace proposals for Ukraine that they had viewed as tilted in Russia’s favor, but they didn’t disclose details of the weekend talks and warned of a long road to peace.

“The negotiations were a step forward, but there are still major issues which remain to be resolved,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb wrote on social platform X about Sunday’s meeting in Switzerland between U.S. and Ukrainian officials.

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Monday that the process could be moving in the right direction.

“Is it really possible that big progress is being made in Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine??? Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening,” he wrote in a post on the Truth Social platform.

The talks in Geneva covered a 28-point peace plan presented last week by the United States that triggered alarm in Kyiv and European capitals by heavily favoring Moscow’s demands and goals following its invasion of its neighbor nearly four years ago.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the “interim result” of the talks, saying the U.S. proposal “has now been modified in significant parts.”

He cautioned, however: “It was possible to clear up some questions, but we also know that there won’t be peace in Ukraine overnight.”

The initial plan pressed Ukraine to consent to handing over some of its territory to Moscow and slashing the size of its army, leaving it vulnerable. The proposal also sought Europe’s agreement that Ukraine will never be admitted into the NATO military alliance, though the alliance has previously said Ukraine is on an “irreversible path” to membership.