Trump, Zelensky speak before Ukraine-US talks in Geneva

KYIV, Feb 26 (AFP): US President Donald Trump spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of a fresh round of talks Thursday aimed at ending Russia's invasion, both sides said on Wednesday.
A White House official gave AFP no further details about the call, which came a day before Ukrainian and US envoys were to meet, and ahead of new trilateral talks with Russia expected in early March.
But Zelensky wrote on social media that he had spoken with Trump, and that his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were on the call.
"Our teams work intensively and I thanked them for all their work and for their active involvement in the negotiations and the efforts to end the war," he added.
According to Ukrainian presidential adviser Dmytro Lytvyn, the conversation "lasted about 30 minutes".
Ukraine's lead negotiator Rustem Umerov will meet Witkoff and Kushner in Geneva on Thursday, Kyiv announced.
Russian state news agency Tass later said that the Kremlin's economic affairs envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, also plans to be in the city.
"Dmitriev plans to arrive in Geneva on Thursday to pursue negotiations with the Americans on economic issues," it cited an unnamed source as saying.
The meetings are the latest round of negotiations spearheaded by Trump that so far have failed to make meaningful progress on ending Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.