Ukraine and Russia have agreed to a ceasefire deal, with terms involving the Black Sea and strikes on energy infrastructure. The United States announced the agreement following talks in Saudi Arabia as it published two readouts from separate talks with both countries.
The White House claims that the ceasefire at sea will “ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.” It also announced that both nations will “develop measures for implementing” a previous agreement to halt the targeting of energy infrastructure after several attacks on power plants in the wake of a narrow ceasefire earlier this month. The Ukrainian readout referenced the return of children forcibly taken to Russia.
It said: “The United States and Ukraine agreed that the United States remains committed to helping achieve the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of civilian detainees, and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children.”
In the Russia readout, the statement included a willingness to allow Russia to remerge onto the world market after being made a pariah by the west following the invasion of Ukraine.
It said: “The United States will help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.”
Both readouts ended by reiterating the role of Donald Trump and his desire to see the end of “killing on both sides”.
Both statements said: “The United States reiterated President Donald J. Trump’s imperative that the killing on both sides of the Russia–Ukraine conflict must stop, as the necessary step toward achieving an enduring peace settlement.
“To that end, the United States will continue facilitating negotiations between both sides to achieve a peaceful resolution, in line with the agreements made in Riyadh.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged the ceasefire which he said would begin immediately but warned that consequences must follow if Russia renages on any peace plan once more.
He told reporters at a news conference in Kyiv: “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, etc.”
The Ukraine Defence Ministry released its own statement in which it laid out its position and key outputs from the bilateral talks.
It said: “No one wants a just peace more than Ukrainians, and our position remains honest, transparent and consistent.
“The Ukrainian side emphasizes that all movement by Russia of its military vessels outside of Eastern part of the Black Sea will constitute violation of the spirit of this agreement, will be regarded as violation of the commitment to ensure safe navigation of the Black Sea and threat to the national security of Ukraine.
“In this case Ukraine will have full right to exercise right to self-defense.”
