Moscow is hoping for "some progress" in upcoming talks in Saudi Arabia, a Russian negotiator told state media ahead of Monday’s meetings between U.S., Ukrainian, and Russian delegations.
The U.S. is engaging in what U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg described as "shuttle diplomacy" to seek a resolution to the full-scale invasion, now in its fourth year, but Russia has already rejected a proposed 30-day unconditional ceasefire, instead offering only to halt aerial strikes on energy facilities.
A Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia late on March 21, mere days before the upcoming talks, killed a family of three, drawing sharp condemnation from Ukrainian officials. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia fired 179 drones in its latest wave of overnight attacks.
Russian senator Grigory Karasin, who will lead Moscow’s delegation, told local Zvezda TV that he and FSB advisor Sergey Beseda would enter the negotiations with a "combative and constructive" approach. He did not specify what kind of progress Russia hoped to achieve.
The selection of negotiators has raised questions, as neither Karasin nor Beseda are from Russia’s key diplomatic institutions such as the Kremlin, foreign ministry, or defense ministry.
Ukraine has accused Russia of insincerity in peace efforts, pointing to continued strikes despite President Vladimir Putin’s recent claim that he ordered a halt to attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Meanwhile, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, a close Trump ally, praised Putin in an interview with Tucker Carlson on March 22, calling him a "great" leader seeking to end the war. "I don’t regard Putin as a bad guy," Witkoff said. "That is a complicated situation, including war and all the ingredients that led up to it. It's never just one person."
Natalia Yermak
(Updated: )
