Ukrainian and U.S. officials held a second negotiation in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss a possible limited ceasefire, a similar discussion between Russian and U.S. delegations that lasted more than 12 hours.
Kiev and Moscow have been holding separate US-mediated speeches in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh to discuss a temporary suspension of strikes in energy venues and a ceasefire in the Black Sea, which are crucial avenues for both countries, crucial paths for exporting goods, and important steps towards the entire mass group of Russia.
Ukraine held its first talks on Sunday, followed by Russia on Monday. A Ukrainian official said under anonymous discussion of the negotiations that the negotiations continued Tuesday morning, and Ukrainian news media said they ended in about an hour. The purpose of the discussion is to find a common basis between Kiev and Moscow, but both sides warn against expecting a deal.
What is on the agenda
The meeting in Riyadh is expected to focus on the details of the temporary agreement between Russia and Ukraine to temporarily halt strikes on energy infrastructure.
But Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that the two countries mainly discussed the security of Black Sea transport and the recovery of the cereal agreement agreed in 2022, which has allowed millions of tons of Ukrainian grain to be exported. Mr. Lavrov said Russia favored the resumption of the cereal agreement, but only if the unspecified Russian requirements were met.
Ukraine's presidential adviser Serhii Leshchenko said in a text message that the Ukraine's conversation focused on ports and infrastructure in the Black Sea. He said the security of Ukrainian ports in Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kherson was discussed. Although ODESA ports are often hit by Russian drones and missiles, there are currently only ODESA ports. The ports of Mykolaiv and Kherson were closed due to the distance from the front line.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri S. Peskov said Tuesday that the Russian government is studying the results of the meeting between Russia and the U.S. delegations. He called the negotiations “technology” and said the results would not be made public.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine will prepare a list of infrastructure that can be included in the ceasefire agreement. He added that third parties must monitor the ceasefire and suggested that the United States could do so.
President Trump served as Russian President Vladimir Putin (V.
But the road to this truce has been shaking. Moscow continues to hold its stance to the greatest extent, including advocating territorial control and ensuring that Ukraine never joins NATO. The Ukrainian government has repeatedly said it would not recognize the Kremlin's demands and accused Mr. Putin of temporarily stagnating.
Russian delegation
The Russian negotiator was Grigory B.
Mr. Karasin described the speech as “creative”, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.
Although Mr. Karasin had previously been involved in sensitive foreign policy negotiations, Mr. Besad's choice surprised some.
Mr. Beseda is the head of the FSB department responsible for international intelligence operations. Russian news media described him as one of the main sources of intelligence he convinced Mr. Putin in 2022, with pro-Russian sentiment in Ukraine, and the brisk invasion could easily dismantle the Kiev government.
In 2023, Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, called Mr. Besa a “very problematic person” in Ukraine and he “doed a lot of evil”.
Ukraine delegation
Mr. Umerov led the Ukrainian delegation together with Mr. Zelensky's senior military adviser Pavlo Palisa.
Mr. Umerov and Mr. Palisa are both members of the Ukrainian delegation, and Mr. Zelensky was appointed this month, led by his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak. In the early days of the war, Mr. Umerov was a key negotiator for Ukrainian and Russian diplomats.
The Ukrainian team and Mr. Zelensky's top diplomatic advisers include the Deputy Minister of Foreign and Energy, the state news agency Uklinfoum said.
Location of Moscow
Last week, Mr. Putin told Mr. Trump in a telephone conversation that Russia would only agree to a temporary truce during any pause in Ukraine that it would have agreed to a temporary truce.
Putin also demanded a complete suspension of foreign military aid and intelligence to Kiev, calling it “a key condition for preventing the escalation of conflict and making progress towards its solutions through political and diplomatic means.”
The White House said that despite the Kremlin’s request, the sharing of military aid and intelligence with Ukraine will continue. However, the Trump administration’s call for Moscow’s territorial concessions is unclear.
Mr. Witkov responded to his attempt to legalize the staged referendum held by Russian occupation forces in parts of Ukraine at the Kremlin conversation point on Sunday to justify the annexation of those territories occupied by military forces. “There is a perception within the Russian countries, and these are Russian territory,” Witkov told Fox News.
Fundamentally, Russia's position on the conflict remains the same. The Kremlin said it hopes to “eliminate the root cause of the crisis”, which essentially calls for Ukraine's surrender.
Kiev's position
Ukraine has previously agreed to an unconditional 30-day truce at the urging of the Trump administration to stop all combat operations. However, Mr. Zelensky spoke with Mr. Trump and agreed to a limited armistice after Moscow said it would support only a partial ceasefire on the energy infrastructure.
In recent days, Ukrainian officials have included the red line in negotiations: Kiev will never accept Russia's sovereignty over the occupied Ukrainian territory; it will not agree to be blocked from joining NATO or reducing the size of its military; it must have security assurances as part of any peaceful solution.
Many Ukrainian officials and analysts say even a limited ceasefire will last, noting that former Trix between Moscow and Kiev was frequently violated, both sides blamed each other.
“I don't believe in a ceasefire. We've experienced this experience before.” Kostyn Yeliseyev, an experienced diplomat and former Ukrainian deputy foreign minister, participated in the ceasefire negotiations in 2014 and 2015.
What's next?
Mr. Witkov said in an interview with Bloomberg News on Wednesday that Trump and Mr. Putin had “probably” met in Saudi Arabia in a few weeks. U.S. officials may also continue to negotiate with their Russian and Ukrainian counterparts in the Middle East to discuss the details of the limited armistice.
But the foundations of the diplomatic process are already shaky, and Moscow and Kiev are ready to continue their battle, analysts said.
“Both sides still believe they can continue the war, regardless of the U.S. stance,” said Dmitry Kuznets, a military analyst at the Russian news media Meduza.
He added: “Moscow and Kiev's vision for the appearance of the agreement remains infinite.”
Maria Varenikova and Minho Kim Contribution report.
