US, Russia in Saudi talks on Ukraine ceasefire plan

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Riyadh: US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia to discuss partial ceasefire in Ukraine on Monday, when US Ukraine spoke there, and President Donald Trump called for an end to the war soon.

US and Russian teams left behind the closed doors at a luxurious hotel in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with a possible rehabilitation of the 2022 ceasefire on the table.

The Ukrainian team, which spoke to the United States officials at the same location on Sunday, is expecting another meeting with the Americans on Monday, a source in Kiev told AFP, a sign that it has made progress.

Trump has been pressing for the rapid end of the three -year war and hopes that the latest round of negotiations in Riyadh can pave the way for a progress.

A few days after the White House dressing down in Jeddah this month-Sadar Wolodmeer Zillinsky’s US-US, a 30-day ceasefire agreed to a ceasefire, which was rejected by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Officials are now studying the potential rehabilitation of the Asian Initiative Sea, a year -long contract under which millions of tonnes of grain and other food exports can be sent from the ports of Ukraine.

“All aspects of the move and the renewal of the move are on the agenda today,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in his daily briefing.

“It was President Trump’s proposal and President Putin agreed. With that mandate, our delegation traveled to Riyadh.”

Two sets of negotiations were actually planned to be simultaneously to enable shuttle diplomacy, the United States went back and forth among the US delegation.

The US team is led by a senior White House National Security Council director, Andrew Pack and senior state official Michael Anton, who sources familiar with the matter told AFP.

Ukrainian team chief, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustam Omarov said the first round of the late negotiations on Sunday was “fruitful and concentrated”.

“We focused on important points, including energy,” Amrov said on social media.

Trump’s envoy to Steve Watticov has emphasized that any agreement will pave the way for a “complete” ceasefire.

He told Fox News, “I think you are going to see some real progress in Saudi Arabia on Monday, especially when it affects the war on the ships between the two countries.

‘Just at the beginning’

But the Kremlin has raised the expectations of the resolution.

“We’re just at the beginning of this route,” Peskov told Russian State TV on Sunday, adding: “There are difficult talks ahead.”

Putin complained to US Ukraine’s joint demand for 30 days for a full and immediate break, and instead proposed to stop attacks on energy facilities.

In 2023, Moscow took out the initiative of the Black Sea.

A senior Ukrainian official had earlier told AFP that Kiev would propose a widespread ceasefire, covering attacks on energy facilities, infrastructure and naval attacks.

The two sides launched fresh drone strikes on the eve of the talks.

A deadly attack on Kiev

Ukrainian officials said three civilians were killed in a Russian drone strike on Saturday, including a five -year -old girl and her father.

In the capital, AFP reporters saw emergency workers treating the injured in the strike early Sunday in front of the affected residential buildings.

The deadly strikes on a well -safe city are less than anywhere else in the country.

Moscow has been talking after a Saudi conversation with Washington under Trump, which has increased confidence in the Kremlin.

“The possibility of mutual cooperation in various fields between our countries cannot be promoted,” Peskov said on Sunday.

He added, “We may not agree on some things, but that does not mean that we should lose ourselves of mutual benefit.”