Russia, US finish 12-hour-long negotiations in Saudi Arabia

The Russian and U.S. delegations concluded talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 24. The parties talked for 12 hours with three breaks.

The meeting, which came a day after talks between the U.S. and Ukraine, was expected to focus on Washington's push for a possible ceasefire in the Black Sea and a potential overall halt on military activity.

The discussions took place in a closed format as journalists were asked to leave the hotel, the Ukrainian outlet Suspilne reported.

"The matter of the Black Sea Initiative and everything related to the initiative's renewal are on the agenda today," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. Moscow unilaterally withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative in 2023, but Ukraine has managed to reopen its shipping corridor through sustained missile and drone strikes against Russian naval forces.

The U.S. delegation is led by Andrew Peek, a senior director at the U.S. National Security Council, and Michael Anton, a senior State Department official, an undisclosed source told Reuters.

The U.S. officials previously met Ukrainian delegates in Riyadh on March 23 in a meeting described by President Volodymyr Zelensky as "constructive and beneficial."

Russian delegates are said to include Grigory Karasin, chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, and Sergei Beseda, an advisor to Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov.

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Sergey Beseda, former head of the 5th Service of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), was an unconventional choice to represent his country in the talks with the U.S. in Saudi Arabia on March 24. Seventy-year-old General Beseda, however, has been deeply involved in Russia’s all-out war against

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova

The meeting is expected to be followed by another round of talks between the U.S. and Ukraine.

The U.S. talks with Kyiv and Moscow come amid U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to broker a ceasefire deal and a broader peace agreement in Ukraine. After Trump's phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky last week, the Kremlin claimed it had ordered a 30-day pause on strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

No ceasefire was implemented.

Kyiv had voiced support for a mutual halt on energy strikes but accused Russia of continuing the attacks. The U.S. and Ukraine previously supported a 30-day ceasefire, which would also apply to ground operations, but Moscow rejected this proposal unless it included a halt on foreign military support for Kyiv and other conditions undermining its ability to defend itself.

Zelensky calls meeting between Ukraine and US ‘beneficial,’ urges further unity

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the meeting between Ukrainian and U.S. delegations in Saudi Arabia was “constructive and beneficial,” with progress made on key issues, in his evening address on March 23.

The Kyiv IndependentSonya Bandouil