- Russia and Ukraine will resume bilateral talks on February 1, launching a new phase of their negotiations.
- The talks will be held without participation by United States representatives.
- Officials describe the session as a bilateral engagement between Moscow and Kyiv, not part of a broader mediation track.
- No details have been released about the format, venue, or specific agenda.
According to the latest announcements, Russia and Ukraine will resume bilateral talks on February 1, launching a new phase of their ongoing negotiations over the conflict in Ukraine. The meetings will be conducted directly between Moscow and Kyiv, with no participation by United States representatives. The organizers described the February 1 session as a bilateral engagement rather than part of a broader diplomatic track that involves external actors. The confirmation emphasizes that the talks are driven by the two sides, signaling a shift away from broader mediation for this phase and underscoring the priority of direct dialogue between Moscow and Kyiv.
Details about the format, venue, and agenda for the February 1 talks were not disclosed. The statement issuing the new phase notes only that talks will be bilateral between Russia and Ukraine, without U.S. representation, leaving the topics and sequence of negotiations unspecified.
At present, no further information has been released about who will participate on each side or where the negotiations will take place. The move to a strictly bilateral framework leaves many logistical questions unanswered, including whether there will be subsequent meetings in the same format.
Historically, Russia and Ukraine have engaged in multiple rounds of diplomacy across different formats, including tracks that involved third-party mediation and Western officials in various capacities. The February 1 announcement positions this session as a distinct bilateral phase, with the two sides pursuing their own agenda without inclusive external involvement for now.
From a procedural standpoint, the announcement signals a deliberate narrowing of the process to direct discussions between Moscow and Kyiv. The release does not specify whether February 1 is intended as a one-off encounter or the first in a sequence of bilateral talks, nor does it indicate any timetable for a potential resumption of broader formats.
With the absence of U.S. representatives, the talks will revolve around the positions and proposals advanced by the two negotiating sides. The public briefing provides neither a subject list nor a timeline for decision points, leaving observers to await official updates on what issues might be prioritized.
On the international stage, the development will be watched closely given the ongoing conflict and the extensive diplomatic efforts around it. The February 1 talks, if they yield substantive proposals, could influence the direction of future diplomacy, whether within a bilateral framework or in future iterations that reintroduce outside actors. The February 1 talks will provide a litmus test for whether the two sides can advance on core issues through direct negotiation, absent U.S. participation.