Without face-to-face meetings: the media learned how the "indirect negotiations" between Ukraine and Russia will take place
Kyiv • UNN
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators will meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss a ceasefire, but there will be no face-to-face meeting. They will discuss a ceasefire at sea and protection of infrastructure.
Negotiators from Russia and Ukraine will arrive in Saudi Arabia for ceasefire talks on Monday, but they will not meet face-to-face — illustrating the gap separating the warring parties, despite the White House's assurances that they "have never been closer" to peace, UNN reports, citing The Washington Post.
Details
According to the publication, the US-mediated talks will focus on a proposed ceasefire at sea in the Black Sea, according to Yuri Ushakov, chief foreign policy aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Negotiators will be in separate rooms, relying on mediators who will relay messages back and forth.
"These will be close-range discussions... sort of shuttle diplomacy in a hotel," Keith Kellogg, special envoy of President Donald Trump for Ukraine and Russia, said in an interview with ABC News.
While Ukraine has said it supports a comprehensive ceasefire without preconditions, Putin has so far only agreed to a narrower proposal calling on both sides to cease attacks on energy infrastructure.
The selective concession appears to benefit Russia, which has repeatedly targeted Ukraine's power system in the winter months but is expected to abandon the strategy as spring approaches. Ukraine has used long-range drones to strike Russian oil depots and cut off domestic fuel supplies to the country.
In a social media post announcing Putin's agreement to an energy ceasefire, Trump said there was an "understanding that we will work quickly to achieve a full ceasefire." But there is no indication that Moscow has retreated from its maximalist goals — including ending Western aid to Kyiv and intelligence sharing with it, as well as Ukraine abandoning its NATO ambitions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Putin "must stop making unnecessary demands that only prolong the war."
How a broader potential ceasefire will be enforced also remains unclear, as Russia refuses any role in NATO-backed peacekeeping forces.
"This is a ceasefire period when everything becomes most sensitive and prone to disruption," said Samuel Charap, a Russia analyst at the Rand think tank. "We should expect zigzags," he added, "one step forward, two steps back."
On Friday, both sides accused each other of undermining the partial ceasefire. Moscow said Kyiv blew up a gas station in Sudzha, a city in western Russia captured by Ukraine in a surprise invasion last year.
"Everyone sees how much we can trust Zelensky's word," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Hours earlier, Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, damaging a multi-story residential building and a shopping center and causing several major fires. "Russia is attacking civilian infrastructure again," Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram.
On Wednesday, Zelensky said his office was preparing a list of civilian infrastructure that should be protected from future strikes, including railroads and port facilities. Andriy Stavnitser, co-owner and CEO of Ukraine's largest port, TIS, said he remains "skeptical" of agreements with Russia.
"What we saw last time was sabotage, deliberate attempts to push Ukraine out of world markets and deliberate delays," he said of talks held in Istanbul earlier in the war. "To ensure compliance, international observers — ideally Americans — must be present on the ground."
Moscow's push for a naval truce in the Black Sea makes sense, said Russian political scientist Kirill Rogov, as Ukraine has paralyzed much of the Russian fleet there and "controls much of the waters with naval drones."
"Putin has no advantages here, so he is comfortable agreeing to a partial ceasefire in this area," Rogov added.
The publication adds that Moscow has also indicated that the talks in Saudi Arabia will concern grain supplies in the Black Sea. Under an agreement reached in the summer of 2022, Ukraine was allowed to export its grain from ports blocked by Russia. But the deal was complicated by disruptions from the outset as Russia accused Ukraine of using the safe corridor to launch drone attacks, and it was suspended a year later.
Since then, Ukraine has sought alternative export routes, including land corridors through Europe and shipments via the Danube River, but these options are much more expensive.
Let's add
The Russian delegation in Riyadh will be led by Grigory Karasin, a senator overseeing foreign affairs, and Sergei Beseda, a senior adviser to the director of the Federal Security Service.
Ukraine will be represented by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Pavel Palisa, deputy head of the presidential administration, according to a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive issues. Zelensky said the delegation will also include energy experts and "people who are deeply versed in port infrastructure."
Among the American mediators will be Michael Anton, director of policy planning under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as aides to Kellogg and representatives from the office of National Security Advisor Michael Waltz.
As the United States tries to persuade Putin to end the war, questions remain about how much influence Washington has over the Russian leader — and how willing Trump is to use it.
Saudi Arabia is ready to host a meeting between Trump and Putin14.02.2025, 15:56 • 34118 views
