The United States has agreed with Ukraine and Russia to ban attacks in the Black Sea. What is known?
25 March 20:56
During the talks in Riyadh, the US delegation agreed with representatives of Ukraine and Russia to prevent attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea.
This is stated in the White House’s reports on the results of the meetings, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
“The United States and Ukraine have agreed to ensure the safety of navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea,” the statement said.
The United States reached a similar agreement during negotiations with the Russians.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov emphasized that Russia’s movement of its warships beyond the eastern part of the Black Sea would be considered a violation of the spirit of this agreement and would be seen as a violation of its obligations to ensure freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and a threat to Ukraine’s national security.
“In this case, Ukraine will have every right to exercise its right to self-defense,” he said.
In addition, the U.S. delegation agreed to work with Ukraine and Russia separately to develop measures to mutually stop attacks on energy facilities in Russia and Ukraine.
The White House emphasized that the United States remains committed to facilitating the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of civilian prisoners, and the return of forcibly displaced Ukrainian children.
In addition, the United States said it would help restore Russia’s access to the global market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, reduce marine insurance costs, and expand access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.
The technical talks between the US delegations and representatives of Ukraine and Russia in Riyadh lasted from March 23-25.
What preceded it
The previous round of talks between the delegations of Ukraine and the United States took place on March 11 in Jeddah. As a result, Ukraine agreed to an immediate temporary ceasefire – in exchange, Washington decided to resume aid and intelligence sharing. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that a 30-day ceasefire will work for the entire front line if Russia agrees to it.
on March 18, Trump spoke with Putin. They discussed, among other things, the 30-day truce proposed by the United States. Putin demanded that Ukraine stop mobilizing and rearming the Armed Forces during this period. After the conversation, the parties reported that Putin allegedly supported the idea of Russia and Ukraine mutually refusing to strike energy infrastructure for 30 days.
On March 19, Trump spoke with Zelenskyy. The US president shared with the Ukrainian leader the details of his conversation with Putin. Zelenskyy said that he was ready to support the cessation of strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure.
Reaction of the President of Ukraine
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine did not conclude any agreements on territories during the talks in Riyadh. At the same time, he noted that statements by officials and media reports make it clear that the Americans and Russians raise the territorial issue in their conversations. The Head of State spoke about this during a meeting with journalists.
According to the President, the United States knows that the issue of territories is “painful” for Ukraine.
“I believe that two issues will be the most difficult with the Russians: a complete ceasefire – I talked about this even before the first meeting, because Russians do not want to end the war – and the issue of territories,” Zelenskyy said.
The Head of State emphasized that it would be a “difficult dialog,” but it would take place anyway.
Zelenskyy also noted that he had spoken with his American counterpart Donald Trump about the future of the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
“I told him: transferring just the plant will not work. There is a city [Enerhodar] where employees live with their families. (…) And no one will give electricity to the Russians. They expected Zaporizhzhia NPP to supply them with electricity. No, this is our station,” the president emphasized.
In response, according to Zelenskyy, Trump said that ZNPP needs to be repaired. The Ukrainian president confirmed this, adding that it would take at least two years to restore the plant.
“He [Trump] asked if we could work together. I answered: yes, if you help us return the plant,” Zelenskyy said.
In addition, the Ukrainian side handed over a list of energy facilities that Russia should not strike. If Russia violates the partial ceasefire agreement, Ukraine will notify the United States.
The President explained that following the talks in Saudi Arabia, each party is obliged not to use weapons against the other party’s energy sector. But Ukraine’s representatives “separately, just in case” handed over a list of all the facilities that cannot be targeted.
He also said that, in the opinion of the Ukrainian side, the partial ceasefire comes into force from the moment the United States announces the relevant statement.
“They (US representatives – ed.) said yes. We are waiting for a signal from official Washington. We believe that after the American side officially issues a statement, the silence on the water and the silence on energy should work,” Zelenskyy explained.
The President also clarified that in case Russia violates the agreements on safe navigation in the Black Sea and the ban on shelling of energy infrastructure, Ukraine will turn to the United States.
“If we see that someone is violating [the agreements], we appeal through all our lines to the American side with the facts and evidence that the Russian side has violated,” he added.
What do the Russians say?
The Kremlin issued its own statement following the talks in Riyadh. It was emphasized that the truce in the Black Sea will take effect after the lifting of sanctions against Rosselkhozbank and other Russian financial organizations involved in international food trade, the Kremlin press service reported .
In particular, the Kremlin set a condition: to connect Rosselkhozbank and other financial institutions back to SWIFT and open correspondent accounts. In July 2023, this was one of Russia’s requirements for the continuation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Russia has also stated that it wants to lift sanctions against companies producing and exporting food and fertilizers, as well as to lift restrictions on insurance companies working with cargo transportation.
In addition, the Kremlin is demanding that restrictions on port services for Russian-flagged ships involved in food and fertilizer trade be lifted, and wants sanctions on the supply of agricultural machinery to Russia to be lifted.
In its statement, Russia confirmed that it had allegedly agreed to stop strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities for 30 days, starting on March 18, with the possibility of extending the agreement or withdrawing from it if Ukraine violates it.
