The U.S. plans to hold indirect talks between Russia and Ukraine in Saudi Arabia to understand each side's conditions, Special Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg announced on March 20.
The talks will involve “shuttle diplomacy,” with Russian and Ukrainian representatives present in separate rooms.
"You basically say, 'Okay. What are your terms?' And you go to the other side, 'What are your terms?' It's basically shuttle diplomacy between rooms in Riyadh, and that's where they are. And then we'll see where we can get to a comprehensive ceasefire, and that would be the first step to ending this war," Kellogg said during a Glenn Beck interview.
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that a Ukrainian contact group will meet with U.S. representatives sometime this week to discuss a temporary ceasefire and prioritize protecting civilian infrastructure.
Separate negotiations between the U.S. and Russia are scheduled for March 24, followed by U.S.-Ukraine negotiations on the same day.
The upcoming consultations in Riyadh will include Russian officials Grigory Karasin, chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, and Sergei Beseda, an adviser to the director of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).
The Ukrainian representatives have not yet been officially announced.
Ukrainian and U.S. delegations last met in Saudi Arabia on March 11, where Ukraine agreed to a U.S. proposal for a complete ceasefire. Russia did not agree to a complete ceasefire, and Russian missile and drone attacks against Ukraine have continued.
Martin Fornusek
(Updated: )
