Washington, Mar 26 (UNI) US President Donald Trump expressed confidence on Wednesday that both Moscow and Kiev want to end the conflict in Ukraine.
On Tuesday, another round of negotiations between the United States and Ukraine took place in Riyadh. Speaking after the talks, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said the sides had agreed to ban any attacks on Russian and Ukrainian energy infrastructure. He also confirmed an agreement on ensuring the safety of navigation in the Black Sea. The White House said the sides agreed in Riyadh to rule out the use of force against commercial vessels in the Black Sea.
“I think that Russia wants to see an end to it, but it could be they are dragging their feet … But no, I think Russia would like to see it end. And I think [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy would like to see it end at this point,” Trump told Newsmax.
On March 25, the Kremlin published a statement on the results of the meeting of the Russian and US delegations in Riyadh. The statement said that according to the agreement between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, both sides agreed to provide realization of the Black Sea initiative. This initiative includes provision of security of navigation in the Black Sea, exclusion of usage of force against commercial vessels and prohibition of usage of such vessels for military purposes. Control over the execution of such measures is planned to be conducted through inspection of vessels. However, the agreement will enter into effect only when certain conditions are satisfied. One of these conditions is lifting sanctions from the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank).
