U.S. and Russian Delegations Negotiate Ceasefire in Ukraine

U.S. and Russian officials have begun new talks in Saudi Arabia, focusing on the potential for a ceasefire in the Black Sea region.

The discussions started around 10 a.m. today (2 p.m. Hanoi time) at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Riyadh, one day after U.S. officials met with a Ukrainian delegation in the same city.

According to sources familiar with the talks, the U.S. delegation is led by Andrew Peek, Senior Director at the White House National Security Council, and Michael Anton, a senior official from the State Department. The Russian delegation is headed by Grigory Karasin, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Senate, and Sergey Beseda, an advisor to the Director of the Federal Security Service.

The White House confirmed that the primary goal of the talks is to achieve a ceasefire in the Black Sea to facilitate the safe transport of goods through the region. According to U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, the delegations will also discuss "control boundaries" between the two nations, which he described as "measures to verify, maintain peace, and preserve current borders." Waltz also emphasized that "confidence-building measures" are on the table, including the return of Ukrainian children who were taken to Russia.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who is leading the Ukrainian delegation in Riyadh, posted on Facebook that the discussions between the U.S. and Ukraine on March 23 included proposals for protecting energy infrastructure and other critical facilities.

"We had a focused and effective discussion. We addressed key issues, including energy," Minister Umerov said.

Steve Witkoff, a special envoy under former President Donald Trump, expressed optimism that any agreements reached in the talks would pave the way for a "comprehensive" ceasefire. "I think you’ll see substantial progress in Saudi Arabia on March 24, especially regarding the Black Sea ceasefire. From there, we’ll aim for a full ceasefire," he said.

However, the Kremlin has tempered expectations for a quick resolution, stating that the talks are still in their early stages. "We are just at the beginning of this journey," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Russian state television on March 23, adding that many issues remain unresolved regarding the implementation of a ceasefire.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected a U.S. proposal for an immediate and comprehensive 30-day ceasefire, agreeing only to a plan for Russia and Ukraine to halt attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure.

Peskov also indicated that the main focus of the talks with the U.S. would be the possibility of resuming the 2022 Black Sea grain deal, which ensures safe exports of Ukrainian agricultural products through the region.

Moscow withdrew from the Black Sea deal in 2023, an initiative brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, after accusing the West of failing to fulfill promises to ease sanctions on Russian agricultural and fertilizer exports.

(Sources: AFP, Reuters)

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