Russian officials began consultations with US representatives in Saudi Arabia on Monday following a similar meeting between the US and Ukrainian delegations a day ago. The talks aim to resolve details of a limited ceasefire that could be a critical step towards a complete halt of hostility in Russia's war with Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine agreed to temporarily suspend energy infrastructure strikes last week, but how that partial ceasefire will be implemented is a question that has not been decided as the attack continues.
The talks held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, are mediated by American representatives – are expected to bash these details and focus on safety for transport in the Black Sea.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri S. Peskov said on Monday that the Russian delegation will discuss the Black Sea shipments and the recovery of the grain trade agreed in 2022. Russia withdrew from the agreement in 2023, saying Western sanctions on the country severely limit the ability to export agricultural products.
Peskov added that President Vladimir V. Putin has been informed of the debate and that it will not be made public while negotiations are taking place.
Russian news agency Interfax reported that senior Russian diplomat and MP Grigory B. Karasin, who is collecting the Russian delegation, had described it as “creative.”
“It's important to stay in touch and understand each other's perspective,” Karasin added. “We can somehow do that.”
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said the delegation consultations on Sunday lasted around five hours. “The discussion was productive and concentrated. We addressed key points, including energy,” he wrote without providing details on social media.
A Ukrainian official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive issues, said the Ukrainian delegation may have additional discussions with US officials on Monday, depending on progress.
Stephen Witkoff, who tapped President Trump to become Putin's personal envoy, said the ultimate goal of the talks was a 30-day full ceasefire that allowed time for negotiations to negotiate a permanent truce.
However, the path to such a ceasefire was unstable. Moscow continues to assert its greatest position, including insisting on territorial control and preventing Ukraine from joining NATO. The Ukrainian government has repeatedly said it would not approve of the Kremlin's demands, accusing Putin of stalling due to time.
Unlike previous ceasefire discussions involving government officials from all sides, this new round focuses on technical issues, primarily involving diplomats and government advisors. Keith Kellogg, a special US envoy to Ukraine, said the US delegation would include some of his own staff along with Michael Anton, the State Department's policy planning director and aide to National Security Adviser Michael Waltz.
Russian delegation
Peskov said Friday that Putin had personally chosen the negotiator for the talks. The delegation is led by Mr. Karasin and Sergei O. Beseda.
Karasin has previously been involved in sensitive foreign policy consultations, but Betheda's choice came as a surprise.
Mr. Betheda was head of the FSB division responsible for the International Intelligence News business. He is described by Russian news outlets as one of the main sources that he has been convinced by Putin in 2022 that he has pro-Russian sentiment in Ukraine and that a lively invasion could easily dismantle Kiev's government.
In 2023, Ukraine's head of military intelligence, Kirilo Budanov called Beseda “a very problematic person” for Ukraine who “doed a lot of evil.”
Ukrainian delegation
Umerov led the Ukrainian delegation in Riyadh. He was joined by Pablo Parisa, President Voldimir Zelensky's top military adviser.
Umerov and Parisa are members of the peace talks for the Ukrainian delegation appointed by Zelensky this month. Umerov was a key negotiator in Ukraine in peace negotiations with Russian diplomats early in the war.
Given the technical nature of the energy and transport consultations, Ukraine sent veteran diplomats and civil servants as part of the delegation. Uklinform, a state news agency, said the team includes Deputy Foreign and Energy Ministers, along with Zelensky's top diplomatic advisor.
Zelensky said Ukraine would prepare a list of infrastructure objects that could be included in the ceasefire agreement. He added that third parties must monitor the ceasefire, suggesting that the US could do so.
Russia and Ukraine may find common ground in their energy and transport consultations, but neither have set conditions for a complete halt of hostilities that appear to be inconsistent.
Moscow's position
Last week, Putin said in a telephone conversation with Trump that Russia would only agree to a temporary ceasefire if Russia halts soldiers, troops training or weapons imports during the period of the battle suspension.
Putin also called for Kiev to halt foreign military aid and intelligence , calling it “an important condition for preventing conflict escalation and progressing towards its resolution through political and diplomatic means.”
The White House said military aid and shared intelligence to Ukraine will continue despite the demands of the Kremlin. However, the Trump administration was not very clear about Moscow's call for territorial concessions, and sometimes seemed to coincide with the Kremlin stance.
Witkov repeated the Kremlin topic on Sunday, legalizing a gradual referendum in which Russian occupation forces were detained in parts of Ukraine, justifying the annexation of territory taken by military forces. “There is an opinion within Russia that these are Russian territory,” Witkov told Fox News. “With these territories there are referendums that justify these actions.” These referendums were widely condemned by the international community as fraudulent and illegal.
Essentially, Russia's position on conflict remains the same. The Kremlin says they want to “eliminate the underlying cause of the crisis.” This essentially requires Ukraine to surrender.
Kiev's position
Ukraine previously agreed to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire at the request of the Trump administration to halt all combat operations. But after Moscow said it would only support a partial ceasefire in energy infrastructure, Zelensky spoke with Trump and agreed to a limited ceasefire.
Recently, Ukrainian officials set a red line into negotiations. Kiev never accepts Russian sovereignty more than occupied Ukrainian territory. I disagree with blocking participation in NATO or reducing the size of the military. And that requires security assurances as part of a peace settlement.
Many Ukrainian officials and analysts have expressed doubt that even a limited ceasefire will be held for a long time, noting that previous trans between Moscow and Kiev has been routinely violated, each of which denounces the other side.
“I don't believe in ceasefires. We've experienced this before,” Kostyantyn Yeliseev, a veteran diplomat and former Ukrainian deputy who participated in ceasefire negotiations in 2014 and 2015, said in an interview.
What's next?
In an interview with Bloomberg News on Wednesday, Witkov said it was “highly likely” that Trump and Putin would meet in Saudi Arabia within weeks. American officials will also likely continue meetings with Middle Eastern Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, discussing the details of the limited ceasefire.
But the foundation of the diplomatic process is wobbling, and analysts said Moscow and Kiev are ready to continue the fight.
Dmitry Kuznets, a military analyst at Meduza, a Russian news outlet run from Latvia after being banned by the Kremlin, said:
He added: “The vision of what the Moscow-Kiev agreement will look like is still infinitely far from each other.”
Maria Valenikova and Minho Kim contributed the report.
