Russia backs resuming Black Sea Initiative in more 'acceptable' form, Lavrov says
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on March 25 that Moscow supports the resumption of the Black Sea Initiative in a form "more acceptable to everybody," state-owned news agency TASS reported.
Lavrov confirmed that the issue was the focus of the 12-hour Russian-U.S. talks in Riyadh on March 24.
The so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative was first brokered by the U.N. and Turkey in 2022 to allow Ukraine to ship out its grain despite Russia's ongoing invasion.
The deal broke down a year later after Russia withdrew from the deal, claiming that its demands, namely pertaining to its fertilizer industry, had not been addressed.
Lavrov reiterated that Russia needs "the grain market, the fertilizer market to be predictable" to ensure its position there.
Despite the initial deal breaking down in 2023, Ukraine has managed to unilaterally reopen the Black Sea corridor, in large part thanks to a sustained drone and missile campaign against the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
A potential U.S.-Russia deal sparked concerns among some countries in the Black Sea region that the agreement would be favorable to Moscow, allowing it to expand its Navy's operational area.
"Considering the sad experience with agreements with Kyiv only, only an order from Washington to (Ukraine's President Volodymyr) Zelensky and his team can provide guarantees," the Russian diplomacy chief said.
The Kremlin refused to provide details on the March 24 talks, describing them as "technical." The negotiations were followed by a brief meeting between the U.S. and Ukrainian delegations in Riyadh a day later.
Ukraine's team previously met the U.S. delegates in the Saudi capital also on March 23 to discuss technical aspects of the proposed ceasefire in Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine as a step toward a broader peace deal. Though Washington and Kyiv initially agreed on a full 30-day truce, Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected this proposal in a phone call with Trump on March 18, agreeing only to a temporary pause on attacks against energy facilities.
Kyiv supported a mutual halt on energy strikes but later accused Russia of continuing attacks against Ukraine's civilian targets.
The Kyiv Independent
