Zelenskyy announces meeting with the US after talks between the US and Russia
24 March 23:53
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the Ukrainian delegation will hold repeated talks with the US delegation after the US representatives talk to the Russian side. Zelensky said this in his traditional evening address, Komersant ukrainskyi reports
The President said that he had recently spoken with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who is in Saudi Arabia for talks with the American side. According to the president, after the meeting on Sunday, the Ukrainian delegation will hold an additional meeting with the American delegation.
“Yesterday we had a meeting with the American team. Today, representatives of the United States spoke with the war team – with representatives of Russia. After that, the Ukrainian and American teams will meet again. I am also expecting a new report,” the Head of State said.
He noted that Ukraine needs to move towards real peace and guaranteed security.
“And we all need this: in Ukraine, in Europe, in America, everyone in the world who wants peace in international relations. Russia is the only actor that is dragging out this war and mocking our people and the whole world. And to push Russia to peace, we need strong things, strong steps,” the head of state emphasized.
Zelenskyy also said he was ready to support “every strong initiative” that would make diplomacy more effective. And this, he said, means that it is necessary to put pressure on Russia to end the war.
“The war was brought from Russia, and it is to Russia that the war must be pushed – it is to them that we must force them to peace, it is to them that we must put pressure to ensure security. I thank everyone who helps us with this. I thank everyone who is working for the security of Ukraine, for the protection of our people, for the protection of our cities,” the President summarized.
It should be noted that a joint statement following the talks between Russia and the United States in Riyadh will be published on Tuesday, March 25.
The meeting was reportedly held in a closed format at the luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel.
Who participated in the talks?
The Russian side was represented by Senator Grigory Karasin and Advisor to the FSB Director Sergei Beseda.
The United States was represented at the meeting by Michael Anthon, Director of Policy Planning at the State Department, as well as assistants to Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
The talks were held between the main participants of the previous conversations, but at the level of technical teams. On Sunday, the Ukrainian side was represented by the military, diplomats, and representatives of the Ministry of Energy.
Main goals of the talks
According to preliminary data, the Black Sea Initiative will be the key topic of discussion. However, the Kremlin has admitted the possibility of discussing other aspects of the Ukrainian settlement.
According to Reuters, during the talks on Monday, the US delegation will seek to make progress on a ceasefire in the Black Sea and a broader cessation of violence in the war in Ukraine.
Bloomberg’s sources say the US administration is seeking a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine before Easter, which is celebrated by both Orthodox and Catholics this year on April 20. However, the White House does not rule out that the deadline will have to be adjusted due to the many disagreements between the parties to the conflict.
According to the agency’s sources, a face-to-face meeting between the presidents of Russia and the United States is possible only after a comprehensive peace agreement is reached, and this is “unlikely before mid-April.”
This is not the first attempt by the American and Russian sides to find common ground on ending Russia’s war against Ukraine. Earlier, negotiations were held in Saudi Arabia to discuss a partial ceasefire. Later, U.S. President Donald Trump had a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin, where these issues were also raised.
At the same time, no direct talks between the representatives of Russia and Ukraine are planned during this visit
Details of the talks between Ukraine and the United States
The day before, representatives of Washington met with a Ukrainian delegation, including Deputy Chief of Staff of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office Pavlo Palisa and Inspector General of the Ministry of Defense Anatoliy Bargilevych.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov noted that the talks were “constructive and meaningful.” One of the topics discussed was the situation in the energy sector, which is of great importance for Ukraine’s security.
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US-Russia talks
on February 18, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Assistant Prime Minister Yuri Ushakov met in Saudi Arabia with an American delegation, represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Volz, and Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
After the talks, the US State Department reported that the delegations agreed to “eliminate irritants” in bilateral relations and continue to work on preparing talks on Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The two sides also agreed to appoint high-level groups for further talks on Ukraine.
Jackie Heinrich, a Fox News correspondent at the White House, reported that the United States and Russia discussed a three-stage peace plan for Ukraine, which consists of the following stages
- A ceasefire.
- Holding elections in Ukraine.
- Conclusion of a peace agreement.
on February 27, negotiations between the Americans and Russians continued in Istanbul. According to the Russian side, they discussed the normalization of diplomatic relations. The Kremlin also allegedly demanded the return of 6 properties that had been seized from Russians in the United States in 2016-2018, and also proposed to resume air travel.
on March 13, Putin met in Moscow with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff. The parties have not yet made any statements about the results of this meeting, except for the words of Trump’s national security adviser Mike Volz that there are grounds for cautious optimism.
Trump’s proposals to Putin
According to inaccurate information from former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul(he used the word “allegedly”), Trump offered Putin (McFaul’s wording is retained)
- ukrainian territory;
- ukraine’s non-membership in NATO;
- no American soldiers in Ukraine;
- withdrawal of American soldiers from Europe, including from frontline countries;
- easing of sanctions.
According to McFaul, Putin has not offered anything yet.
