{"id":422513,"date":"2025-03-25T20:08:56","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T19:08:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2025\/03\/25\/colloqui-riad-usa-ucraina-russia-mar-nero\/"},"modified":"2025-03-26T12:06:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T11:06:00","slug":"ukraine-and-moscow-at-odds-immediately-after-riyadh-ceasefire-talks-conclude","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2025\/03\/25\/ukraine-and-moscow-at-odds-immediately-after-riyadh-ceasefire-talks-conclude\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine and Moscow at odds immediately after Riyadh ceasefire talks conclude"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels – The negotiations in Saudi Arabia between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States<\/strong>\u00a0that\u00a0are supposed to be the first step in a complex negotiating process<\/strong> aimed, in the long run, at ending the bloody war in the former Soviet republic have concluded after three days. However,\u00a0even now, there are misunderstandings, smears, and differences in interpretation<\/strong> that could jeopardize what little, it seems, the delegations have just agreed upon in Riyadh. More than anything, the object of contention\u00a0is\u00a0the possibility of easing\u00a0the sanctions regime against Moscow<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Washington’s versions<\/h3>\n

This afternoon (March 25), the White House issued two brief statements<\/strong>\u00a0outlining the main points on which\u00a0two separate understandings <\/strong>reportedly agreed, one with the Kyiv<\/a>\u00a0and the other with the\u00a0Moscow delegations<\/a>. These briefings reflect the core aspects\u00a0discussed in the Saudi capital, during which the US\u00a0team met with its\u00a0Ukrainian (first on Sunday 23, and then again this morning) and Russian (yesterday) counterparts:\u00a0on the one hand, the definition\u00a0of technical details related to the 30-day ceasefire<\/strong> concerning infrastructure. On the other, the issue of navigation in the Black Sea<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

According to the White House statements, the two belligerent countries have agreed with the United States “to develop measures for the implementation of the agreement,” verbally entered into by Donald Trump<\/strong> with his counterparts Vladimir Putin<\/strong> and Volodymyr Zelensky<\/strong> in two separate phone calls<\/a>, aimed at “prohibiting attacks against the energy infrastructure <\/strong>of Russia and Ukraine.” The wording brought to a definitive close\u00a0the\u00a0“case” that had emerged\u00a0recently\u00a0regarding\u00a0the types of facilities protected by the ceasefire<\/strong>: protect energy facilities, as Moscow wanted, but not ports and railways, as Kyiv demanded.<\/p>\n

\"Volodymyr<\/a>
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky (photo via Imagoeconomica)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Regarding\u00a0the second point, Ukraine and Russia reportedly\u00a0agreed “to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes<\/strong> in the Black Sea.” Within this framework, negotiating efforts aim to\u00a0revive the so-called “Black Sea Initiative,<\/strong>” the agreement dating back to July 2022,\u00a0mediated by Turkey and the UN<\/strong> that for a year (until Moscow suspended its renewal) allowed Ukrainian grain to reach the rest of the world<\/strong> through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits and, in parallel, exempt Russian fertilizers<\/strong>\u00a0from Western sanctions.<\/p>\n

Kyiv and Moscow already at odds<\/h3>\n

However, the first issues\u00a0are already\u00a0emerging<\/strong>, starting with the timing and modalities for\u00a0starting\u00a0the truce. Kyiv maintains that the ceasefire should go into effect immediately.<\/strong>\u00a0At the same time, the Kremlin says that first\u00a0sanctions<\/strong> affecting Russian companies exporting\u00a0grain and fertilizer products<\/strong>, including entities such as insurance companies, shipowners, agricultural machinery suppliers, and financial institutions linked to the business sector in question, must\u00a0be lifted.<\/p>\n

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov<\/strong> said earlier in the day that UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres<\/strong>\u00a0is reportedly in constant contact with Moscow to work on easing restrictive measures<\/strong> against the Federation. On the other hand, the White House statement stresses Washington’s commitment “to restore Russia\u2019s access to the world market <\/strong>for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, <\/strong>and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.<\/strong>” A point on which the Ukrainian president did not hide his concerns.<\/p>\n

\"Sergei<\/a>
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (file photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Theoretically, based on the (fragmentary and sometimes contradictory) reconstructions available at the time of the publication of this article, the relief of sanctions against the Kremlin<\/strong> should take place following the suspension of war operations<\/strong> by\u00a0Russia and not before, as Lavrov suggested. However,\u00a0the inconsistencies in the official communication<\/strong> already experienced in recent weeks regarding the entire negotiation process suggest, at the very least, caution with the use of conditionals.<\/p>\n

Moscow, for now, prefers not to show\u00a0all its cards. The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov<\/strong>, explained that the detailed contents of the technical talks will not be released<\/strong> as they are too sensitive and said they are currently “being analyzed.” A new phone call between Putin and Trump is not currently scheduled<\/strong>, but Peskov stressed that, if appropriate, it could be arranged soon. Some rumors that emerged this morning spoke of a joint statement between the Kremlin and the White House<\/strong>, which, however–Russian sources say–would be skipped “because of Ukraine’s position.”<\/p>\n

According to the official briefings, the United States\u00a0“remains committed to helping achieve the exchange of prisoners <\/strong>of war, the release of civilian detainees<\/strong>, and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children<\/strong>.” The briefing stresses that the\u00a0imperative is to “stop the killing on both sides” in order to achieve an “enduring peace settlement<\/strong>” between the belligerents. However, at the moment,\u00a0three-way talks —\u00a0<\/strong>putting Ukrainian, Russian, and US\u00a0 delegates at the same table — are not in sight.<\/p>\n

Europe doesn’t believe it<\/h3>\n

\n

Europe, however, has\u00a0illusions about the real intentions of Putin and his people. “If Russia believes that Ukraine’s borders are just a line on a map<\/strong>, why should it respect the borders of any other country?” asked the president of the European Council, Ant\u00f3nio Costa<\/strong>, speaking at an event in Brussels this afternoon.<\/p>\n

\"Costa<\/a>
From left: European Council President Ant\u00f3nio Costa, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (photo: European Council)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The former Portuguese prime minister reiterated the urgency for the EU to build its strategic autonomy, stressing the need for a “collective effort to strengthen our defense spending by more than 30 percent<\/strong>, paving the way for decisions that are shaping the Europe of defense” such as, precisely, the Ursula von der Leyen<\/strong>-led continental rearmament plan.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the work of the coalition of the willing<\/strong> under the auspices of Paris and London continues. Zelensky himself will travel to the transalpine capital tomorrow (March 26) to meet with the Elys\u00e9e occupant\u00a0in preparation for Thursday’s meeting aimed at finalizing the operational details<\/a> of the peacekeeping<\/strong> initiative that – in his and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer<\/strong>‘s plans – should ensure respect for an eventual total truce<\/strong> in Ukraine, if\u00a0it is ever\u00a0agreed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not even 24 hours have passed since the end of the first round of US-negotiated talks between the belligerent countries, and already the two sides are giving divergent readings of the same official texts published by the White House, especially on the easing of sanctions against the Kremlin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7876,"featured_media":422509,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":""},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25707],"tags":[26411,25907,26458,26042,25802,30839,30509],"class_list":["post-422513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-politics","tag-initiative-black-en","tag-negotiations-war-ucraine-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7876"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422513"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":422590,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422513\/revisions\/422590"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}