According to the United States, both Ukraine and Russia agreed on a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, as well as a halt to attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure, on Tuesday.
Reuters reported that the parties concluded separate agreements which, if implemented, would mark the clearest progress yet towards a broader ceasefire.
The deals came as the second round of peace talks concluded in Saudi Arabia. The first meeting between the US and Russian delegations took place in the Middle Eastern country in late February. Then, on 11 March, Ukraine agreed to an immediate 30-day ceasefire following a day-long negotiation with the Americans. After that, the ball was in Russia’s court to accept the deal. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin consented only to a ceasefire concerning energy and infrastructure targets, following a phone call lasting more than 90 minutes with US President Donald Trump last week. That limited ceasefire was allegedly breached by both sides almost immediately.
Regarding the current agreements, both Kyiv and Moscow rely on Washington to enforce the terms. ‘If the Russians violate this, then I have a direct question for President Trump. If they violate, here is the evidence—we ask for sanctions, we ask for weapons,’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters at a news conference in Kyiv. Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov stated that Kyiv would regard any movement of Russian military vessels outside the eastern part of the Black Sea as a violation and a threat, in which case Ukraine would exercise its full right to self-defence.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov remarked: ‘We will need clear guarantees. And given the unfortunate history of agreements made solely with Kyiv, the guarantees must come in the form of a direct order from Washington to Zelenskyy and his team, instructing them to do one thing and not another.’
Under the agreement with Moscow, Washington pledged to assist in restoring Russia’s access to international markets for its agricultural and fertilizer exports. The Kremlin, however, indicated that this would necessitate the lifting of certain sanctions, presumably those targeting food producers and exporters, as well as Russian banks, and expressed its intention to rejoin SWIFT.
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