The U.S. held separate talks with Ukraine and Russia in Saudi Arabia. Here’s what came out of them, according to Washington and Moscow.
The United States has reached agreements with both Ukraine and Russia to “ensure safe navigation [and] eliminate the use of force” in the Black Sea, according to press releases from the White House following separate meetings between the U.S. delegation and Ukrainian and Russian representatives in Riyadh.
The sides also reportedly agreed to “prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.”
No agreement was reached on banning mutual strikes against energy infrastructure. The White House said only that the United States had agreed with both parties to “develop measures for implementing” the proposal for a 30-day pause in attacks on energy facilities.
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Additionally, the White House said the United States had promised Russia to restore its access to “the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports.”
Shortly after the White House’s statement, the Kremlin published its own press release, stating that Russia had negotiated the lifting of sanctions on the state-owned Rosselkhozbank (Russian Agricultural Bank) and Russian food and fertilizer producers. It also confirmed that the U.S. and Russia, like the U.S. and Ukraine, had agreed to a ceasefire in the Black Sea and would “develop measures” to halt mutual strikes on energy infrastructure.
The Kremlin emphasized that the Black Sea ceasefire would take effect only after sanctions were lifted on Rosselkhozbank “and other financial organizations involved in international trade of food and fertilizers.”
The U.S. and Ukrainian delegations met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 23 and 25. On March 24, U.S. officials held talks with the Russian delegation in the same city — a meeting that lasted more than 12 hours.
Ahead of the negotiations, all sides emphasized that the discussions would be technical in nature.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine issued official statements immediately following the talks.
Cover photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
