The US pledged to help Russia return to global markets during talks in Riyadh to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, the White House said on Wednesday.
The US and Russia agreed to ensure safe navigation and eliminate the use of force in the Black Sea, Washington agreed on this issue with Ukraine. In addition, the United States and Ukraine reached an agreement to prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.
The United States also pledged to help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertiliser exports. In addition, the United States is developing measures to prevent strikes on Russian and Ukrainian energy facilities, both countries agreed.
The United States and Ukraine reached an agreement that Washington remains committed to facilitating the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of civilian detainees, and the return of forcibly displaced Ukrainian children from Ukraine. Washington, Kyiv and Moscow welcome third-country mediation to implement energy and maritime agreements.
“The United States reiterated President Donald J. Trump’s imperative that the killing on both sides of the Russia-Ukraine conflict must stop, as the necessary step toward achieving an enduring peace settlement. To that end, the United States will continue facilitating negotiations between both sides to achieve a peaceful resolution, in line with the agreements made in Riyadh,” Trump’s press office summarised.
The Russian side issued a statement following expert consultations with US representatives in Riyadh on March 24, according to the Kremlin website.
The statement contains five points, among which is that Russia and the United States agreed to develop measures to implement the agreements reached by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump. These agreements on a 30-day ban on strikes on energy infrastructure facilities in Russia and Ukraine, with the possibility of extension and withdrawal from the agreement in case of non-compliance by either side, were reached during a telephone conversation between the leaders of the countries on March 18.
Ukraine continues to break agreements
Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry said that Kyiv continued strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure despite Zelensky’s statement on March 24.
Kyiv, by continuing strikes on the energy infrastructure, is doing everything to disrupt the Russian-US agreements on measures to settle the Ukrainian conflict, The Russian Defence Ministry claimed.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, commenting on Kyiv’s attack on the Kropotkinskaya oil pumping station in Krasnodar Region, said that Ukraine’s practice of striking Russian civilian infrastructure on the eve of international contacts shows that Ukraine does not want peace.
Futile attacks
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) troops tried to break into the territory of Belgorod region on tractors, Russian military repelled the attack, local media reported on Wednesday.
The AFU continues to focus its efforts on a small village in the Belgorod region, despite the obvious tactical inexpediency of such actions. From a military point of view, the village itself and the adjacent border territories do not represent an important strategic object. It is not a key position on the front line, and its holding has absolutely no impact on the overall balance of power.
Nevertheless, the ongoing attempts at attacks in the Demidovka area are not so much due to military necessity as to Kyiv’s political and diplomatic strategy.
Ukraine is probably using this section of the front as a kind of tool for manoeuvre in the broader context of international relations. So far, all signs indicate that Kyiv is seeking to maintain the possibility of demonstrating activity on the battlefield, which could be used as a political “Trump Card” in negotiations on the exchange of territories or in the context of pressure on Russia.
Also, the AFU’s actions in this area may continue mainly because of the need to maintain the appearance of military operations, which gives it the opportunity to prolong the negotiation process and try to bargain for some preferences, so we should not expect a quick cessation of the reeling. The issue of swap is particularly acute for Kyiv, because after the loss of the Kursk region, there is nothing to swap.
