RIYADH: Talks between Russia and the US on Ukraine in Saudi Arabia on Monday have ended after around a dozen hours of negotiations, with a joint statement expected Tuesday, Russian news agencies reported.
The TASS news agency reported its source saying that the meeting had ended after “more than 12 hours of consultations” and that a “joint statement” on results will be published Tuesday.
The talks, which followed US talks with Ukraine on Sunday, came as US President Donald Trump intensifies his drive to end the three-year-old conflict after he last week spoke to both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A source briefed on the planning for the talks said the US side was being led by Andrew Peek, a senior director at the White House National Security Council, and Michael Anton, a senior State Department official.
The White House said the aim of the talks was to reach a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, allowing the free flow of shipping.
Russia will be represented by Grigory Karasin, a former diplomat who is now chair of the Federation Council’s Foreign Affairs Committee, and Sergei Beseda, an adviser to the director of the Federal Security Service.
It has been a struggle to reach even a limited, 30-day ceasefire — which Moscow and Kyiv agreed to in principle last week — with both sides continuing to attack each other with drones and missiles.
One major sticking point is what targets would be off-limits to strike, even after US President Donald Trump spoke with the countries’ leaders, because the parties disagree.
While the White House said “energy and infrastructure” would be covered, the Kremlin declared that the agreement referred more narrowly to “energy infrastructure.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he would also like to see infrastructure like railways and ports protected.
Talks Monday in the Saudi capital of Riyadh were expected to address some of those differences, as well as a potential pause in attacks in the Black Sea to ensure the safety of commercial shipping. Russian state media reported late Monday local time that the talks had ended.
In an exchange with reporters at the White House, Trump said territorial lines and the potential for US ownership of a key nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine have been part of the talks.
* With AFP, AP and Reuters
