March 27, 2025 – US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia on Monday to advance discussions on a broad ceasefire in Ukraine, with Washington prioritizing a separate Black Sea maritime ceasefire before securing a wider agreement.
The talks followed US-Ukrainian negotiations in Saudi Arabia on Sunday and come as US President Donald Trump accelerates efforts to end the three-year conflict after recent calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The White House stated that the primary goal is ensuring safe navigation in the Black Sea, where intense military activity has subsided in recent months.
“This is primarily about the safety of navigation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, referencing an earlier 2022 Black Sea shipping agreement that Moscow claims failed to meet its expectations.
A source familiar with the discussions said the US delegation was led by Andrew Peek, a senior director at the White House National Security Council, and Michael Anton, a senior State Department official.
Representing Russia were Grigory Karasin, chair of the Russian upper house’s Foreign Affairs Committee, and Sergei Beseda, an adviser to the Federal Security Service director.
Karasin described the three-hour-long discussions as “creative,” noting that both sides addressed key bilateral tensions.
Trump, who has consistently pushed for an end to the war, expressed satisfaction with the progress of negotiations and praised Putin’s engagement.
On Saturday, Trump remarked that efforts to prevent further escalation were “somewhat under control.”
However, European powers remain skeptical of Putin’s willingness to compromise, viewing his demands—including Ukraine renouncing NATO ambitions and withdrawing from four Russian-occupied regions—as unchanged since the war began in 2022.
Pause on Energy Attacks
The Kremlin confirmed that Russia is adhering to a 30-day moratorium on strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure, a pause Putin promised Trump, despite Kyiv’s continued attacks on Russian energy sites.
Ukraine, which insisted on a formal agreement before honoring the pause, accused Moscow of violating its own moratorium, a claim Russia denies.
White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday that US, Russian, and Ukrainian delegations were all present at the same facility in Riyadh.
Beyond a Black Sea ceasefire, discussions focused on defining the “line of control” between Ukraine and Russia, including verification measures and peacekeeping strategies.
Waltz also noted that confidence-building measures, such as returning Ukrainian children taken by Russia, were on the table.
The Kremlin reiterated its interest in reviving the Black Sea Grain Initiative, originally brokered by Turkey and the UN in July 2022, which facilitated Ukrainian grain exports despite the conflict.
Russia exited the agreement in 2023, citing obstacles to its own food and fertilizer exports. However, its grain exports through the Black Sea have continued without major disruptions.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, leading Kyiv’s delegation, confirmed that US-Ukraine talks included proposals to safeguard energy and infrastructure facilities.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who met with Putin in Moscow earlier in March, downplayed NATO allies’ concerns that a deal could embolden Russia to invade other nations.
“I just don’t see that he wants to take all of Europe. This is a much different situation than it was in World War Two,” Witkoff told Fox News.
“I feel that he wants peace,” he added.
Peskov acknowledged that while Moscow and Washington share a mutual understanding of the need to end the war, many complex details remain unresolved.