Ukraine is ready to proceed with a ceasefire prohibiting attacks on energy infrastructure, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late on Tuesday, in line with a deal that was brokered by the US during three days of negotiations with Ukrainian and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia.
Zelenskiy said in a video address that Ukraine had agreed with US negotiators “that a ceasefire for energy infrastructure can start today.”
However, he warned that any strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities by Moscow would draw “strong retaliation.”
Photo: Reuters
The comments underscored the tenuous agreements that came out of the three days of separate US-Ukrainian and US-Russian talks in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh.
Washington said that it had agreed with the warring parties to implement a pause on attacks on energy infrastructure as well as taking steps to ensure safe navigation for ships in the Black Sea.
Those talks were part of a broader effort by US President Donald Trump’s administration toward a limited, 30-day ceasefire that Moscow and Kyiv agreed to in principle last week, but has thus far failed to materialize as both sides continue to launch drone and rocket attacks against the other.
While Zelenskiy on Tuesday thanked the US for its efforts to strike an agreement, questions remained over some key details.
The White House said in separate statements that the sides had “agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.”
Details of the prospective deal were not released, but it appeared to mark another attempt to ensure safe Black Sea shipping after a 2022 agreement that was brokered by the UN and Turkey, but halted by Russia the next year.
After the White House issued its statement, the Kremlin warned that a potential Black Sea deal could only be implemented after sanctions against Russian Agricultural Bank and other financial organizations involved in food and fertilizer trade are lifted, and their access to the SWIFT system of international payments is ensured.
Zelenskiy called the demands an example of Moscow “manipulating, twisting agreements and lying” about the terms of the agreement.
“There are absolutely clear statements that have been published by the White House, everyone can see what is stated there,” Zelenskiy said. “And there is something that the Kremlin is lying about again: that supposedly the [ceasefire] in the Black Sea depends on the issue of sanctions.”
In an apparent reference to Moscow’s demands, the White House said that the US “will 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.”
When asked about when Washington might help Moscow achieve those ambitions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov yesterday said that contacts between Russia and the US “continue quite intensively,” and that authorities are “satisfied with how pragmatic, constructive and productive our dialogue is.”
Peskov said that the 2022 Black Sea Grain initiative could be revived if Russia’s demands regarding agricultural and fertilizer exports are met.
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