US negotiators meet with Russian team in Riyadh after talks with Ukraine

US and Russian officials are holding talks in Saudi Arabia in an attempt to reach a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine.

Monday's talks are taking place a day after the United States and Ukraine held separate talks, which Kiev described as "fruitful."

The US and Russia are expected to discuss the details of a long-term cessation of attacks by Russia and Ukraine against energy and civilian infrastructure, as well as a halt to attacks in the Black Sea.

The American team is said to be led by Andrew Peek, director at the White House National Security Council, and Michael Anton, a senior official at the US State Department.

The Russian team is being represented by Grigory Karasin, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Russian Parliament, and Sergei Beseda, advisor to the director of the Federal Security Service, according to Russian media.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said talks between Moscow and Washington focus on technical issues, including the security of commercial shipping in the region.

The Washington team has not yet commented on the talks with Kiev representatives, but Ukraine's Defense Minister, Rustem Umerov, said the talks were "constructive and meaningful."

"The discussions were fruitful and focused. We addressed key issues, including energy," Umerov wrote on Facebook.

"President Volodymyr Zelensky's goal is to secure a just and lasting peace for our country and people - and for all of Europe. We are working to achieve this goal," he added.

The Riyadh talks marked a historic moment in the US-led effort to reach a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine. Previously, there had been breaks of a day or more between different rounds of bilateral talks.

However, even though Russian and Ukrainian negotiators will be in the same place as they hold talks with the American delegation, few people expect any major progress.

Zelensky, speaking as the talks were taking place, said that "our team is working in a completely constructive manner."

"The conversation is quite useful - the work of the delegations is continuing," he added.

"But, no matter what we say to our partners today, we must make [Russian President Vladimir] Putin give a real order to stop the attacks. Whoever brought this war must stop it," Zelensky stressed.

However, US officials have expressed optimism ahead of the meetings in Saudi Arabia.

"I think on Monday you'll see real progress in Saudi Arabia," US envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News on March 22.

Kiev and Moscow have been more restrained in their views.

In Russia, where Radio Free Europe has been declared an undesirable organization and is practically banned, it was Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov who dashed any hopes for a quick agreement.

"We shouldn't have high expectations. A very serious and big job awaits us. We will have to go into detail," he said in an interview on state television on Sunday.

"We are only at the beginning of this path," he added.

Russian and Ukrainian diplomats are not scheduled to meet directly. Instead, they are expected to meet separately with the American team, in what one American official described as “mediated diplomacy.”

US President Donald Trump has so far been the most vocal supporter of the negotiations. But his hopes for rapid progress have faced constant setbacks.

First, a plan agreed with Ukraine for a 30-day general ceasefire was blocked by Putin. After a phone call with Putin, Trump said they had agreed to a halt to attacks on infrastructure.

But the Kremlin narrowed that focus further, saying the deal only covered energy infrastructure – which its forces attacked anyway. Ukraine hopes to clarify this issue in Jeddah by bringing a list of what Russia must agree not to target.

Similar fog followed the talks between Trump and Zelensky. While US officials talked about a new plan for US ownership of Ukrainian nuclear power plants as a form of security guarantees for Ukraine, Zelensky made it clear that these plants are state property that belonged to all Ukrainians.

Meanwhile, it was again said that a bilateral agreement on Ukraine's rare earth minerals is almost ready. But there is still no clarity on when the document - which, it seems, contains more aspirations than concrete details - will be signed.

Another topic is expected to be discussed in the new talks in Saudi Arabia.

Witkoff, the American envoy, said there would be progress on "a ceasefire in the Black Sea, for ships between the two countries. And from there, we will naturally move to a full ceasefire."

Witkoff also said he is convinced that Putin wants peace, something that Ukraine and European countries do not believe./ REL