Following a rapprochement with Washington under Trump that has increased trust in the Kremlin, Moscow enters the Saudi negotiations.
While Moscow, whose delegation was scheduled to hold its own separate discussions with the Americans on Monday, warned of “difficult negotiations” ahead, Washington hoped for “real progress” during the “productive and focused” talks between US and Ukrainian officials on Sunday night in Saudi Arabia on de-escalating the war with Russia.
According to reports, the White House is attempting to reach a comprehensive truce in Russia’s conflict in Ukraine by April 20, which is Easter in both the Orthodox and Western churches this year. However, considering the significant difference between Kyiv and Moscow’s stances, a Bloomberg report suggests that the deadline might slide.
For the first time since the early stages of Moscow’s invasion, US officials are holding separate discussions with Russian and Ukrainian representatives in Riyadh in an effort to expedite the three-year-old conflict, which US President Donald Trump has been striving for.
Originally, the talks were supposed to happen concurrently to allow for shuttle diplomacy, but attacks have persisted despite the opposing sides’ divergent proposals for a short-term truce. Going back and forth between the delegations is something that America hopes will lead to a breakthrough.
US-Ukraine Talks
Rustem Umerov, the Ukrainian defense minister, led the Ukrainian team in a meeting with the Americans that concluded late on Sunday night. “The conversation was fruitful and targeted — we covered important topics, such as energy,” Umerov posted on social media, adding that Ukraine was striving to achieve its objective of a “fair and sustainable peace.”
Ukraine had earlier stated that plans to safeguard vital infrastructure and energy facilities would be discussed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that “Russia is the only one who is dragging this war out” during an evening speech.
“No matter what we talk about with our partners, we need to push Putin to give a real order to stop the strikes: the one who brought this war must take it away,” he stated.
Zelensky also called for new pressure on Russia from his nation’s partners. “New decisions and new pressure on Moscow are needed to bring an end to these strikes and this war,” he wrote on Sunday regarding social media.
US-Russia Negotiations
According to Russian official media, Moscow’s delegation had arrived in Riyadh on Sunday, and U.S.-Russian talks were scheduled for Monday.
In the midst of this, American diplomat Steve Witkoff expressed hope that any deal reached would lead to a “full-on” truce.
“I believe there will be significant progress in Saudi Arabia on Monday, especially in regards to a ship-to-ship ceasefire in the Black Sea between the two nations. And a full-fledged shooting ceasefire would follow organically from there,” he told Fox News.
However, the Kremlin toned down hopes for a speedy settlement on Sunday, claiming that negotiations were only getting started. “We are only at the beginning of this path,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Russian state television.
He stated there were still a lot of unanswered questions about the possible implementation of a ceasefire.
A joint US-Ukrainian call for a complete and immediate 30-day truce was rejected by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who instead suggested a halt to attacks on energy facilities alone. Peskov stated, “There are difficult negotiations ahead,” in the social media-shared interview.
Following a rapprochement with Washington under Trump that has increased confidence in the Kremlin, Moscow enters the Saudi negotiations.
According to Peskov, the “potential for mutually beneficial cooperation in a wide variety of spheres between our countries cannot be overstated” on Sunday.
“We may disagree on some things but that does not mean we should deprive ourselves of mutual benefit,” he stated.
The Black Sea Agenda of Moscow
Moscow has stated that a potential renewal of a 2022 Black Sea grain agreement that guaranteed safe passage for Ukrainian agriculture exports over the Black Sea would be the “main” focus of its discussions with the US. “On Monday, we mainly intend to discuss President Putin’s agreement to resume the so-called Black Sea initiative, and our negotiators will be ready to discuss the nuances around this problem,” Peskov stated.
In 2023, Moscow withdrew from the agreement, which was mediated by the United Nations and Turkey, claiming that the West had not fulfilled its pledge to reduce restrictions on Russia’s own exports of fertilizer and agricultural products.
Prior to this, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP that Kyiv will suggest a more comprehensive truce that would cover naval strikes, infrastructure attacks, and attacks on energy facilities.
Drone Attacks Prior to Conversations
On the eve of the negotiations, new drone attacks were undertaken by both sides. Three civilians, including a five-year-old child and her father, were murdered in Kyiv by a Russian drone strike, according to Ukrainian officials.
According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia launched 147 drones against the nation in the most recent round of attacks.
Meanwhile, Russia claimed to have shot down almost 60 Ukrainian drones in a single night. According to officials, a woman was killed in the Belgorod border region by a drone strike, while another man was slain in the southern Rostov region of Russia when falling drone debris lit his car on fire.
In the meantime, the Ukrainian army reported that it had taken control of a tiny settlement in the eastern Lugansk region, marking a rare victory for Kyiv’s beleaguered forces.
