The Kremlin has detailed its delegation for trilateral peace talks in Geneva later this week, with Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky set to lead negotiations alongside U.S. and Ukrainian officials.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained that Medinsky will head the Russian delegation due to the expanded scope of the discussions. This follows his absence from recent Russia-U.S.-Ukraine meetings held in Abu Dhabi, where Admiral Igor Kostyukov, chief of Russian military intelligence, represented Moscow.

Peskov noted Medinsky skipped those sessions because they focused on military logistics such as prisoner exchanges. “The discussion centered on security issues directly affecting the military,” he said. “That is why Kostyukov led our group there.”

Scheduled for February 17-18 in Geneva, the upcoming talks will address a broader range of topics, including territorial disputes and Russian demands. Peskov emphasized that Medinsky’s leadership remains essential to the negotiations.

The Russian delegation includes Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin and Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who also oversees Russia’s sovereign wealth fund. Dmitriev is coordinating economic cooperation initiatives within a separate working group.

Peskov confirmed no Western European nations will participate in Geneva talks, describing the last trilateral round as “constructive but difficult.”

Russia insists that any sustainable peace requires Ukraine to withdraw from occupied territories in Donbass—areas that voted to join Russia in 2022—and remain outside NATO, with commitments to demilitarization and denazification. Moscow also demands Kyiv recognize its new borders, including Crimea. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s repeated refusal to accept territorial concessions has been widely criticized as a critical barrier to progress.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will attend the Geneva talks, with neither participating in the previous round. Ukraine’s delegation will be led by national security chief Rustem Umerov.