Delegations from the United States and Russia have resumed conversations on Saudi Arabia on Monday with the aim of preparing the land for a generalized fire agreement in Ukraine, amid the accusations between Moscow and kyiv of Energy infrastructure attacks. The meeting was preceded by a separate meeting between US and Ukrainian officials on Sunday in Saudi Arabia, to treat kyiv’s conditions in the framework of negotiations that seek to end three years of war.
The American part is headed Andrew Peek director of White House National Security Council; y Michael Anton senior official of State Department. While the Russian delegation has Griry Karasin former diplomat that currently presides over the Foreign Commission of the Russian Parliament; y Sergei Beda advisor to the director of Federal Security Service.
Apart from paving the ground for total truce conversations, Washington seeks to close a separate agreement of high fire in the Black Sea that allows to resume the flow of goods on this sea route, according to the White House. For its part, Kremlin also certified that they expect to “study the prospects for the possible implementation of a recognized initiative with the safety of navigation in the black Sea.” Both parties allude to the Gran initiative in the Black Sea negotiated With the mediation of Türkiye in 2022which allowed the safe export of about 33 million tons of Ukrainian grain despite the war. Moscow retired from the pact in 2023, arguing that the agreement put obstacles to the export of its products – food and fertilizers – and the initiative could not be recovered despite international efforts.
At the moment, an agreement for suspension of attacks on energy infrastructure has been reached, achieved with the mediation of US President Donald Trump, who spoke with the leaders of both countries. However, there are great differences on what objectives and areas are beyond the reach of the attacks. Washington said that it covers “energy and infrastructure”, while Moscow restricted the terms to “energy infrastructure.” The pact has not been exempt from mutual accusations of moratorium violation. Kremlin spokesman, Dimitri PeskovHe said that Ukraine bombed a gas measurement station in Sudzha, in Kursk, southeast of Russia; Information that kyiv described as “absurd” and blamed a false flag operation. “At the moment, we have no orders of the president,” Peskov said, about whether they intend to maintain the suspension. While, Russian troops launched a batch of about 90 drones in Ukraineof which 57 were demolished throughout the country, although the rest did not cause damage.
It is expected that after this Monday’s meeting, the US delegation will meet again with the Ukrainian part in Riyadh, to treat negotiations. “Our team is working totally constructively, the debate is very useful. The work of the delegations continues,” said Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski. “At the moment we are waiting for the results of the United States-Russia meeting,” said a Ukrainian official to the AFP news agency.
Around the conversations to end war there is skepticism among European countries about whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to make significant concessions to reach a high permanent fire. “I just don’t see that I want to seize all of Europe. This is a very different situation from that of World War II, “said the US special envoy, Steve Witkoffin an interview with the CBS station. Putin has reiterated his willingness to reach a peace agreement, but with a series of conditionsthat go through suspending foreign military aid, reduce the size of their armed forces, withdraw the troops of the four regions that he claims and abandon their ambitions to join NATO.