Ukraine defence minister says US, Ukraine conclude ‘productive’ talks in Riyadh

By Anjali Sharma

WASHINGTON – UkrainE Defence Minister Rustem Umerov on Monday has said that the talks between US and Ukrainian delegations have concluded in Riyadh, stated the discussion was “productive and focused”, with “key points including energy” addressed.

Umerov, in a post on Sunday on social media platform X, who led the Ukrainian delegation, emphasized  that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s goal is “to secure a just and lasting peace” for Ukraine and Europe at large, claiming, “We are working to make that goal a reality.”

Ukraine and US teams met earlier in the day in Riyadh, media reported.

According to the Ukrinform news agency, the Ukrainian delegation also included State Secretary of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Oleksandr Karasevych, deputy heads of the President’s Office, Pavlo Palisa and Ihor Zhovkva, as well as Deputy Energy Minister Mykola Kolisnyk.

The talks came two weeks after a previous meeting between the two sides in Jeddah saw Ukraine okay a US-proposed 30-day ceasefire plan in exchange for Washington lifting its pause on military aid to and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

The meeting precedes the talks between US and Russian delegations scheduled for Monday.

Media reported that the Russian delegation has arrived in Riyadh.

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said that the delegation includes Grigory Karasin, chairman of the committee on international affairs in Russia’s Upper House, and Sergey Beseda, Adviser to the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that “Russia is the only one who is dragging this war out”.

“No matter what we talk about with our partners, we need to push Putin to give a real order to stop the strikes: the one who brought this war must take it away,” he said.

The discussions between the US and Russia were set for Monday, with Russian state media reporting Moscow’s delegation had arrived in Riyadh on Sunday.

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff voiced optimism that any agreement struck would pave the way to a “full-on” ceasefire.

“I think you’re going to see in Saudi Arabia on Monday some real progress, particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries. And from that you’ll naturally gravitate to a full-on shooting ceasefire,” he told Fox News.

Kremlin on Sunday downplayed expectations of a rapid resolution, said talks were just beginning.

“We are only at the beginning of this path,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state TV.

He said there were many outstanding questions over how a potential ceasefire might be implemented.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected a joint US-Ukrainian call for a full and immediate 30-day pause, proposed instead a halt in attacks only on energy facilities.

“There are difficult negotiations ahead,” Peskov said in the interview, published on social media.

Peskov said the “main” focus in its talks with the US would be a possible resumption of a 2022 Black Sea grain deal that ensured safe navigation for Ukrainian farm exports via the Black Sea.

“On Monday, we mainly intend to discuss President Putin’s agreement to resume the so-called Black Sea initiative, and our negotiators will be ready to discuss the nuances around this problem,” Peskov said.

Moscow pulled out of the deal brokered by Turkey and the UN in 2023, accused the West of failing to uphold its commitments to ease sanctions on Russia’s own exports of farm produce and fertilizers.

Both sides launched fresh drone attacks on the eve of the negotiations.

Ukrainian officials said a Russian drone attack killed 3 civilians in Kyiv, including a five-year-old girl and her father.

US government announced that Zelensky agreed in the talks to halt attacks on Russian energy facilities.

Ukraine suggested that its delegation would discuss with its US counterpart a proposal to halt attacks on infrastructure facilities as well when they meet in Riyadh.

US team is expected to hold talks with Russian officials on Monday.

Observers are closely watching whether the talks can make any progress that would lead to a ceasefire.