Moscow, March 24: Russia and the United States have begun consultations in Riyadh on Monday regarding the settlement of the ongoing conflict with Ukraine. The talks are aimed at discussing details about a partial ceasefire and cessation of hostilities to end the conflict.
This followed after the US and Ukrainian delegations held similar consultations on Sunday in the Saudi Arabia capital on a potential ceasefire deal. The Russian delegation at the consultations is represented by the Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Grigory Karasin and Advisor to the Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Sergey Beseda.
The American delegation is led by Michael Anton, Director of Policy Planning at the US State Department, as well as advisors to Keith Kellogg, and US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Russia’s state-run news agency TASS reported.
In an interview with American media outlet CBS News on Sunday, Waltz said that the United States and Russia will discuss the cessation of hostilities in the Black Sea and the resumption of trade traffic through its waters at their meeting in Saudi Arabia.
“We are now going to talk about a Black Sea maritime ceasefire so that both sides can move grain fuel and start conducting trade again in the Black Sea,” Mike Waltz added. Earlier, Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov announced that Russia and the United States will particularly address reviving the Black Sea grain initiative after Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, reached a corresponding agreement in their recent phone call.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday said that the meeting between Ukrainian and US delegations in Saudi Arabia was “constructive and beneficial”, with progress made on key issues.
“Our team is working quite constructively, and the discussion has been very beneficial. The work of the delegations is ongoing,” The Kyiv Independent reported, quoting Zelensky. Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who led the Ukrainian delegation, said the discussions included military, diplomatic, and energy representatives.
“The conversation was constructive and meaningful — we discussed key issues, including in the energy sector,” Umerov took to social media on Monday and posted. Last week, Trump and Putin held a telephonic conversation, highlighting the need for peace and a ceasefire to end the conflict with Ukraine.
Both leaders agreed that the movement to peace would begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on the implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire, and permanent peace.
IANS