US-Ukraine-russia talks: everything you need to know at this point

The United States, Ukraine and Russia continue negotiations to end the hostilities. The delegations have already held several meetings and made a number of decisions. Find out what is known about the peace talks in Ukraine today

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In recent weeks, US President-elect Donald Trump has stepped up his efforts to negotiate with Ukraine and russia to end the war that has been going on for more than three years. The delegations of the countries have met several times in Saudi Arabia, so there are already questions about what the negotiating teams are seeking and what the results are to date. Let's try to understand what is known about the shuttle talks on the war in Ukraine.

Trump's loud statements during the election campaign about ending the war in Ukraine in ‘24 hours’ turned out to be just that, statements. The president himself admitted that the situation in Ukraine was much more complicated than he had imagined. In general, it should be acknowledged that promises of peace ‘in 24 hours’ are nothing more than populism during the election campaign.

Nevertheless, Trump kept his word and immediately after his re-election began a dialogue on ending the war. And today, this dialogue has grown into practical conversations that take place between the delegations of Ukraine, the United States and russia in Saudi Arabia.

The negotiations between the delegations are held in a ‘shuttle’ format (the delegations do not meet together, but separately - the US-Ukraine and the US-russia delegations).

What are the countries striving for and what are they discussing?

At the initial stage of negotiations, representatives of the US and russia proposed a three-stage peace plan:

1. a ceasefire;

2. elections in Ukraine;

3. signing a final agreement.

However, it is unclear how relevant this plan is now.

The parties are now discussing a ceasefire in Ukraine. And this step is supported in Washington and Kyiv. But moscow is putting forward conditions for the ceasefire and is not yet willing to stop the fighting.

In this regard, the United States decided to take a different path - a phased ceasefire consisting of a temporary ban on strikes on energy infrastructure, a truce in the Black Sea, and humanitarian issues. According to Washington, the implementation of these points will lead to a complete ceasefire.

See also: Trump had a phone conversation with Putin. What did they agree on?

What have the countries already agreed on?

Maratorium on strikes on the energy system

If the first contacts between the delegations did not show any results in practice, the recent new meetings resulted in some agreements: The US, Ukraine and russia have agreed to introduce a 30-day energy truce, which prohibits the warring parties from striking energy facilities.

Here is a list of russian and Ukrainian facilities that are subject to the temporary moratorium on strikes on the energy system:

1. Oil refineries;

2. Oil and gas pipelines and storage facilities, including pumping stations;

3. Electricity generation and transmission infrastructure, including power plants, substations, transformers and distributors;

4. nuclear power plants;

5. Hydroelectric dams.

By the way, russian officials have already accused Ukraine of violating the ceasefire. However, the Ukrainian leadership claims that this is a lie and an attempt to discredit Ukraine.

Other agreements

In addition to the ban on strikes on the energy sector, two other issues were also discussed at the recent talks: the restoration of safe shipping and the non-use of force in the Black Sea. However, immediately after the announcement of these agreements, the kremlin stated that moscow would only agree to this if a number of sanctions were lifted, namely

▪️ from Rosselkhozbank and other banks involved in food and fertiliser exports;

▪️ from companies producing and exporting food and fertilisers, as well as companies insuring the relevant cargoes;

▪️ from russian-flagged vessels transporting food and fertilisers and the servicing of such vessels in ports;

▪️ on the supply of agricultural machinery and other goods used in the production of food and fertilisers to russia.

Washington responded that they would think about these conditions further.

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What are the prospects for the negotiations?

In general, as expected, the negotiation process with russia is difficult, as Moscow is trying to get favourable terms for itself at the initial stages, including the lifting of some sanctions, etc.

However, US President Donald Trump is convinced that both Ukraine and Russia want peace, although he admits that moscow may delay the negotiations.

Meanwhile, analysts at the US Institute for the Study of War note that the kremlin's official statements are vague, include ceasefire requirements that are not mentioned in either the official statements of the United States or Ukraine, and leave room for disagreement between the parties involved in interpreting the agreements, lifting sanctions, and monitoring possible violations.

The United States is trying to find a balance in the context of Ukraine and russia, and, as we remember, on Trump's instructions, this balance should be found within 100 days.

Just a reminder. We wrote about how many Ukrainians are ready for peace talks with russia.

Want to know more? Read the latest news and useful materials about Ukraine and the world in the News section.

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