The latest round of US-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine in Saudi Arabia concluded without a ceasefire agreement, despite US President Donald Trump’s push for an end to the three-year war.
However, both countries separately agreed to avoid military strikes on vessels in the Black Sea, according to the White House.
In a parallel statement, the White House said Russia and Ukraine had “agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.”
While Ukraine had already agreed to an unconditional ceasefire earlier this month, Russia rejected the proposal, instead demanding a new Black Sea trade agreement that would benefit its exports.
According to news agency AFP, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov insisted that any agreement should include a new Black Sea initiative that secures Russian trade interests. “We are… for restarting in some kind of form, in a more acceptable way for everyone, the Black Sea Initiative,” Lavrov said, adding that Moscow does not want to be pushed out of the global grain and fertiliser market.
He went further, urging the US to “order” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept such a deal. “Moscow thinks this can only be achieved as a result of an order from Washington to Zelensky and his team,” Lavrov said.
The Black Sea deal, originally brokered by the UN and Turkey in 2022, allowed Ukraine to export grain safely but Russia withdrew from the agreement in July 2023, claiming that its own agricultural exports were still restricted.
Despite the agreement on vessel safety, Ukraine warned that movements of Russian warships “outside the eastern part” of the Black Sea would violate the US-brokered agreement.
Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov said on Facebook that if Russian warships moved beyond the designated area, “Ukraine will have full right to exercise its right to self-defence.”
Talks yield no breakthroughs
US officials held a second round of brief discussions with the Ukrainian delegation on Tuesday after 12 hours of talks with Russian representatives the day before. A Ukrainian source told AFP that negotiations ended shortly after they began, with no progress announced.
The Kremlin confirmed that discussions were ongoing but downplayed the chances of a rapid resolution. “The content of the discussions will not be made public,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that there was no specific date for further talks.
A senior Russian negotiator, Grigory Karasin, described the talks as “intense” and “useful” but admitted that “we are far from solving everything”. He suggested that future discussions would involve the UN and other countries.
While diplomatic negotiations stalled, the conflict on the ground showed no signs of abating. Ukrainian officials reported that their air defence forces had intercepted 78 out of 139 drones launched by Russia on Tuesday.
In the northeastern city of Sumy, the death toll from a Russian missile strike on Monday rose to 101 wounded, including 23 children. “The attack struck a residential area and a school, which had to be evacuated,” the Sumy regional administration said.
Meanwhile, Russia claimed to have captured two more villages in Ukraine’s southern and eastern regions. The Kremlin has repeatedly said it will not give up any of the territories it has seized.
