Ukraine ceasefire talks: What will be discussed in Saudi Arabia as Trump pushes for truce by Easter?
Officials from Ukraine and Russia are holding ceasefire talks in Saudi Arabia, as US president Donald Trump reportedly pushes to secure a truce in time for Easter.
Kyiv’s delegation sat down with Washington’s team in Riyadh on Sunday night, with Moscow set to separately follow suit on Monday – in what are believed to be the first such parallel peace talks since the early days of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion.
After three years of brutal warfare, US officials told Bloomberg this week that Mr Trump hopes to secure a ceasefire deal by 20 April, a symbolic date on which both Western and Orthodox celebrations of Easter will overlap this year.
However, the Kremlin appeared to temper any hopes of a swift truce on Sunday ahead of the Riyadh talks, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warning that progress on a deal was unlikely as it was “only the beginning” of what would be “difficult” negotiations.
Here, The Independent takes a look at what to expect from the US-led talks in Saudi Arabia, which came just hours after Russia killed seven people – including a five-year-old child – in overnight drone strikes on Kyiv, and four people in Donetsk.
Broadly, the talks will focus on the details of a proposed 30-day ceasefire on strikes on energy infrastructure – as well as a longer-term peace deal.
Following a phone call last week, Mr Putin and Mr Trump agreed “that the movement to peace will begin” with a 30-day pause in attacks on Russian and Ukrainian energy facilities, the White House said.
But that narrowly defined ceasefire was quickly cast into doubt, with Kyiv accusing Moscow of bombing its own oil depot in Kursk to undermine the agreement, while also striking hospitals and homes in Ukraine and knocking out power to some railways.
Nevertheless, Mr Zelensky has said that Kyiv would draw up a list of facilities which could be subject to a partial ceasefire, including not just energy, but also rail and port infrastructure.
A moratorium on energy facilities could disproportionately favour Moscow, given Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities have been a key route for Kyiv to inflict pain on its aggressor.
Mr Peskov, meanwhile, said Moscow’s main focus on Monday would be on a possible resumption of the UN-brokered July 2022 deal to ensure safe navigation for commercial vessels in the Black Sea.
Despite Russia having unilaterally withdrawn later that same year, the Kremlin claimed that Mr Putin had “responded constructively” to a Trump initiative on Black Sea shipping and had agreed to begin negotiations.
In remarks that will do little to assuage European fears that the White House is increasingly parroting Kremlin propaganda, US special envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News on Sunday: “I feel that [Mr Putin] wants peace.
“I think that you’re going to see in Saudi Arabia on Monday some real progress, particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries. And from that, you’ll naturally gravitate into a full-on shooting ceasefire.”
