Meeting of USA-Ukraina and the USA-Russia in Saudi Arabia

Talks of the US and Ukraine delegation regarding the war caused by Russia have ended. “The discussion was productive and specific, we raised key issues, including the issue of energy,” said the defense minister of Ukraine Rust Diastov, who headed the team from Kiev. Talks of Washington and Moscow delegations are planned for Monday.

US delegations i Ukraine They met on Sunday in Saudi Arabia to talk about the Russian-Ukrainian war. The authorities in Kiev expect an agreement on partial truce regarding energy facilities, civil infrastructure and ensuring free navigation in the Black Sea.

The Minister of Defense, who was heading of the Ukrainian delegation, reported to the meeting around 17 o'clock, and around 21.30 about its completion.

“We finished the meeting with the American team. The discussion was productive and specific, we raised key issues, including the issue of energy. The goal of President Wołodymyr Zelnski is to provide a fair and lasting peace for our country and our people, and thus, for all of Europe. We are working on this goal to become reality,” he said.

Earlier, the President of Ukraine spoke about conversations Wołodymyr Zelanski on a television statement. – Our team works in a completely constructive way. The conversation is very useful, the work of the delegation continues – he said. – But regardless of what we say to our partners today, we must force Putin to issue the real order to stop attacks. The one who caused this war must undo it – he reserved. The president did not participate in the meeting.

Earlier, Umerow – informing about the beginning of the start of negotiations – said that “the agenda included proposals to protect energy facilities and critical infrastructure.” “Today we are working on a number of complex technical issues, our delegation consists of energy experts, as well as representatives of the army from the Navy and the Air Force” – he added.

On Monday, also in Saudi Arabia, Americans and the Russian side are to talk.

Witkoff: I feel Putin wants peace

A special US envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff in an interview with Fox News expressed optimism on Sunday before talks to lead to the end of the war. He also said that he “feels” that the president Russia Vladimir Putin “wants peace” – said the Reuters agency.

– I think that in Saudi Arabia on Monday you will see some real progress, especially when it comes to suspension of weapons in the Black Sea between the ships of both countries. And from this you will naturally go to a full suspension of weapons – said Witkoff.

Trump's envoy also said that “he simply does not think that (Putin – ed.) He wanted to take over all of Europe.” “This is a completely different situation than during World War II,” he said.

Bloomberg: The White House wants to agree to Easter

On Sunday, the Bloomberg agency, citing sources close to the case, reported that the White House was striving for the agreement on the truce in the Russian war with Ukraine to be achieved before April 20. The authorities in Washington admitted that the deadline for generating an agreement may move due to large discrepancies between the positions of Ukraine and Russia.

Also on Sunday, the National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said that United States They discuss a series of trust construction measures aimed at ending the war, including the future of Ukrainian children taken to Russia.

A few days earlier, March 18 and 19, US President Donald Trump conducted Telephone calls with the Russian leader Vladimir Putin and President of Ukraine Volodymym Zelnski. After these conversations, the White House reported that the next round of negotiations on the suspension of weapons in Ukraine would take place on the coming days in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh.

Initially, it was reported that the meeting of the US delegation with Ukraine and, separately, with Russia would take place on Monday, March 24. On Saturday evening, Zelanski informed that the meeting of the Ukrainian and American delegation would be organized on Sunday.

A meeting of Americans with a Russian delegation

Talks of the US and Russia delegation are planned for Monday. On Friday, the American special envoy for Ukraine General Keith Kellogg announced that the delegations of Ukraine and Russia will be located during conversations in separate rooms, and negotiations will take place in the form of “pendulum diplomacy”: the intermediaries will move between the rooms and provide information from the other side.

It is not known so far whether, in connection with the fact that – as announced by Zelanski – Ukrainians meet with the Americans on Sunday, the plan presented by Kellogg will come true. According to Newsweek, if there is progress at a meeting with a Russian delegation, Americans will talk to Ukrainians again on Monday.

Advisor of Vladimir Putin Jurij Reszakov announced that experts from Russia and the United States will discuss ways to ensure the safe transport of goods in the Black Sea. The Russian delegation will include Grigory Karasin, a former diplomat who is currently managing the Foreign Committee on the Federation Council (High Chamber of Parliament), and Sergei Biesisie, adviser to the head of the Federal Security Service (FSB).

On Saturday, Karasin told the media that he hopes “at least for some progress” and emphasized that he was going to talk about “brave and constructive” in the mood. The delegation goes to Saudi Arabia on Sunday and will come back on Tuesday, and its goal is to “solve at least one case” – he added.

The Russian independent political scientist Kiriłł Rogow assessed that Russia's pursuit of the Black Sea agreement “has sense” because Ukraine immobilized most of the Russian fleet on this water and “controls most of the sea with the help of sea drones” – said Washington Post. “Putin has no advantage there, so for him it is beneficial to agree to a partial suspension of weapons in this area,” the expert emphasized.

Talks at the technical level

As the US Department of State announced, talks will be conducted at technical level, without the participation of American officials in the rank of the minister. The American side is to be represented by Michael Anton, director of political planning in the Department of State, and adviser to Kellogg and representatives of the White House adviser to the National Security Advisor, Michael Waltz.

According to “Washington Post” in Saudi Arabia, there will be no face to face the delegation of Ukraine and Russia, which testifies to the huge discrepancies dividing both sides, despite Trump's assurances that the peace “has never been closer”.

Trump and Putin agreed to a 30-day suspension of weapons regarding energy facilities and infrastructure. This agreement, however, is much narrower than the American proposal of a 30-day suspension of weapons in the airspace, at sea and land, which during previous talks in Saudi Arabia was accepted by Ukraine. On Friday, both sides accused each other of breaking a partial truce.

According to the American Institute of War Studies (ISW), the Kremlin uses the ongoing negotiations on the suspension of “as a weapon” and intentionally distorts the status and conditions of the future agreement on a truce to delay and undermine the sense of conversations to lead to the end of the war.