US to fulfill Ukraine once more in Riyadh after talks with Russian delegation | Russia-Ukraine conflict Information

United States officers are set to fulfill with their Ukrainian counterparts once more after a spherical of talks with Russian negotiators on a partial ceasefire in Ukraine.

A senior Ukrainian official instructed the AFP information company that the assembly could be held in a while Monday after US and Russian delegations wrap up their day’s talks in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh.

Monday’s US-Russia talks had been primarily targeted on ending assaults on Black Sea transport, with a view to ushering in a broader ceasefire settlement that might carry an finish to the three-year Russia-Ukraine conflict.

US officers had already met the Ukrainian workforce on Sunday to debate the safety of civilian and vitality infrastructure, mentioned Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who led the delegation and referred to as the talks “productive”.

Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig mentioned Ukraine was now eager to see Russia conform to a deal that might defend Black Sea transport, significantly “the cessation of shelling of Ukrainian ports Odesa, Kherson and Mykolaiv”.

“Now that’s been a serious concern for the Ukrainians. Ukraine actually desires their ports working and operating and that’s why initially they proposed a ceasefire on air and sea,” mentioned Baig.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Monday that US and Russian officers had been discussing the doable resumption of the 2022 Black Sea Grain Initiative, an settlement that was supposed to permit Ukraine to ship hundreds of thousands of tonnes of grain and different meals exports from its ports.

Moscow pulled out of the initiative – brokered by Turkey and the United Nations – in 2023, accusing the West of failing to uphold its commitments to ease sanctions on Russia’s personal exports of farm produce and fertilisers.

No breakthrough anticipated

“No person is holding their breath right here anticipating any breakthroughs. Even the spokesperson of the Russian International Ministry, Maria Zakharova, mentioned there are not any expectations for a breakthrough in Riyadh on Monday”, mentioned Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Moscow.

“What is anticipated is that they’re going to hammer out particulars of what Russia is asking for. The Russian delegation has been speaking to the US official for no less than the previous eight hours, as we perceive it, in regards to the particulars on a 30-day ceasefire settlement with regards to vitality and infrastructure, and in addition the Black Sea initiative”, she added.

Oleksiy Melnyk, co-director of International Relations and Worldwide Safety Programmes at Ukraine’s Razumkov Centre assume tank, mentioned the size of the negotiations pointed to the Russian facet as soon as once more making “increasingly” requests and calls for.

Chatting with Al Jazeera from Kyiv, he mentioned there was “zero belief between the 2 sides” and no “risk for direct talks” between Moscow and Kyiv.

Melnyk mentioned the US might improve its strain on the Ukrainian authorities, however famous: “If there are not any prospects or curiosity on the Russian facet besides capitulation of Ukraine, what’s the motive for Ukraine to interact in such negotiations?”

Maximalist calls for

The give attention to the Black Sea is a a lot narrower one than a broad 30-day ceasefire settlement that the US proposed to Russia in Saudi Arabia earlier this month.

Final week, after separate cellphone calls with US President Donald Trump, each Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to a 30-day restricted ceasefire, pledging to not assault vitality infrastructure in one another’s territories.

However each side have accused the opposite of finishing up assaults on these particular vitality targets in current days.

The Kremlin mentioned on Monday that Russia was nonetheless abiding by the moratorium that Putin had promised Trump, regardless of Kyiv persevering with to strike Russian vitality services.

Ukraine, which mentioned it will solely conform to the pause if a proper doc was signed, has accused Moscow of flouting its personal moratorium.

Nonetheless, Trump has expressed broad satisfaction over the way in which talks have been going and has been complimentary about Putin’s engagement within the course of to date, saying on Saturday that efforts to cease additional escalation within the battle had been “considerably underneath management”.

However there’s scepticism amongst main European powers over whether or not Putin is able to make significant concessions or will follow what they see as his maximalist calls for.

Putin says he is able to focus on peace however that Ukraine should formally drop its NATO ambitions and withdraw its troops from the whole lot of the territory of 4 Ukrainian areas claimed and principally managed by Russia.

Continued assaults

Monday’s talks got here after Russia launched its third consecutive in a single day air assault on Kyiv, wounding one particular person and damaging homes within the area across the Ukrainian capital.

Ukraine’s International Minister Andrii Sybiha mentioned Russia should cease its strikes as a substitute of “making hole statements about peace” within the wake of a Russian missile assault on the northeastern metropolis Sumy in a “residential neighbourhood”.

The assault injured no less than 74 individuals, together with 13 kids, damaging a college and a hospital, in response to the regional governor.

“Any diplomacy with Moscow should be backed up by firepower, sanctions and strain”, Sybiha mentioned on X.

Russia, for its half, mentioned it had downed 227 Ukrainian drones within the final 24 hours, as firefighters in its southern Krasnodar area battled for a fifth day to place out a blaze at an oil depot struck in a Ukrainian drone assault final week.

The Russian Defence Ministry claimed on Monday that Ukraine performed two drone strikes on the Valuika gasoline distribution station within the Belgorod area on Saturday.

Moreover, it mentioned Ukrainian forces had tried to assault the Glebovskoye gasoline condensate discipline in Crimea on Sunday, however that Russian air defences had repelled the assault.