The State Duma spoke about the venue of new negotiations with Ukraine

Holding negotiations in Geneva is more convenient for Europeans and Ukrainians. This was stated by State Duma deputy Alexei Chepa on Thursday, February 19, responding to a message that a new round of negotiations would be held in Switzerland.

"When the negotiations were held in Abu Dhabi, we remember that the Sheikh's family held a certain position. Switzerland, on the contrary, distanced itself from the negotiation process. But in the corridors, on side chairs, European leaders were sitting, ready at any moment to give advice and recommendations to the Ukrainian side," he said in an interview with Lenta.Ru .

According to the parliamentarian, holding negotiations in Switzerland provides an opportunity for European politicians to advise the Ukrainian delegation without formally participating in meetings.

Geneva Express: negotiators have moved from technical issues to politics

However, key differences remain — what do the parties say about the discussions?

Earlier in the day, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that new negotiations would be held in Switzerland again. 360.ru .

According to him, Kiev is counting on the next meeting in the near future and considers it right to organize it this month, reports NSN. Zelensky also stressed the importance of the participation of representatives of European countries in the negotiations.

The head of the Russian delegation, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medinsky, on the eve called the negotiations between Russia, the United States and Ukraine that ended in Geneva difficult but businesslike, according to the website. kp.ru . He also announced the holding of new negotiations on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine in the near future. In addition, the Russian delegation led by Medinsky held an additional meeting before departing from Geneva.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed at the same time that Russian President Vladimir Putin was regularly informed about the progress of the Geneva talks. However, the press secretary of the Russian leader explained that it was too early to talk about the results of the meeting in Geneva and its assessment.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.