In his evening address on March 25, President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of manipulating the conditions it has set out in order to secure a Black Sea ceasefire agreement.
"We see how the Russians have already started to manipulate. They are already trying to distort the agreements and actually deceive our mediators and the whole world," Zelensky said.
Following discussions between the U.S. and Russia in Saudi Arabia, the two countries agreed on March 25 to implement a ceasefire in the Black Sea and a ban on strikes against energy infrastructure.
To secure an agreement, the White House initially vowed to help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.
The Kremlin later issued a statement on March 25, stating that the ceasefire in the Black Sea will take effect only after Western sanctions on Russia's Rosselkhozbank and other financial organizations involved in supporting international food trade operations are lifted and have their connection to the SWIFT messaging system restored.
"There are absolutely clear statements published by the White House. Everyone can see what they say. And there is something that the Kremlin is lying about again: that allegedly the silence in the Black Sea depends on the issue of sanctions, and that allegedly the start date for the silence in the energy sector is March 18. Moscow always lies," the president added.
Moscow is also demanding that the West lift the sanctions on Russian food producers and exporters, as well as on Russian-flagged ships involved in food and fertilizer trade. Another condition for the ceasefire is that commercial ships in the Black Sea should be inspected, according to the Kremlin.
In response to the additional Russian demands, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the U.S. is "looking at" lifting sanctions on Russia in order to secure a Black Sea ceasefire agreement.
The Kremlin claimed that the ban on energy strikes had been in effect since March 18 and would be valid for 30 days with the possibility of extension.
Despite the agreement between Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, a week ago, Russia has continued its regular campaign of aerial attacks against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
