UNITED States officials began talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia around 07:30 GMT on Monday, March 24, on the need for a ceasefire in the latter’s war in Ukraine.
The meeting followed separate talks between the US and Ukrainian delegates a day earlier.
The ICIR reports that the US negotiation with Ukraine in Saudi Arabia on Sunday was part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the three-year conflict, after speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin last week.
Trump expressed satisfaction with the progress of the talks and lauded Putin’s involvement in the process so far.
However, major European powers remain sceptical about whether Putin is willing to make meaningful concessions or will maintain what they view as his maximalist demands, which have remained unchanged since he deployed tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine in 2022.
Putin has stated that he was open to peace talks but insisted that Ukraine must formally abandon its North Atlantic Trade Organisation (NATO) membership ambition and withdraw its troops from four Ukrainian regions that Russia has conquered.
White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told CBS on Sunday that US, Russian, and Ukrainian delegations were gathered in the same facility in Riyadh.
In addition to discussing a Black Sea ceasefire, he said the teams would address “the line of control” between the two countries, which involves “verification measures, peacekeeping, and freezing the lines where they are.”
Waltz also noted that “confidence-building measures” were on the agenda, including the return of Ukrainian children taken by Russia.
Recall that in July 2022, Turkey and the United Nations mediated the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which enabled the safe export of nearly 33 million metric tons of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea despite the ongoing war.
However, Russia withdrew from the agreement in 2023, citing significant obstacles to its food and fertilizer exports.
Despite these complaints, Russia is not currently experiencing major difficulties in exporting its grain through the Black Sea.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.