A Russian negotiator stated that discussions between Russian and US officials regarding a partial truce in Ukraine were beneficial and would continue, and they wish to involve the United Nations and various other countries in discussions with the United States.
“We covered a wide range of topics in a deep, challenging dialogue that proved beneficial for both us and the Americans,” Grigory Karasin informed Russia’s TASS news agency. “This conversation will continue,” he added following 12 hours of negotiations that took place in a hotel in Saudi Arabia.
He stated,
“We will proceed with the discussions, including the international community, particularly the United Nations and specific nations,”
Karasin informed TASS.
President Donald Trump is striving for a swift resolution to the three-year conflict and is optimistic that the talks in Saudi Arabia will facilitate progress.
The Ukrainian negotiation team stayed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for one more day to engage with US representatives, as reported by the news agency AFP. Talks were also held earlier this month in Jeddah, shortly after Trump had criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. During those discussions, Kyiv agreed to a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, which Russian President Vladimir Putin subsequently rejected.
Initially, the US planned simultaneous talks with both Ukraine and Russia, enabling mediation between them. However, these discussions are now occurring sequentially. In a phone call with Trump, Putin dismissed the US and Ukraine’s appeal for a complete and immediate 30-day ceasefire, proposing instead to halt assaults on energy installations.
The discussions held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, aimed to concentrate on the specifics of a provisional deal between Russia and Ukraine to pause strikes on energy infrastructure temporarily. Recently, both nations exchanged allegations concerning attacks on each other’s energy facilities, underscoring the profound mistrust that persists and the fragility of any potential agreement.
Both parties are also negotiating the potential revival of the Black Sea Initiative, which was first facilitated by Turkey and the United Nations in 2022. Russia exited the agreement in 2023, claiming the West failed to fulfill its obligations to relax sanctions on Russian agricultural and fertilizer exports.
