Ukraine, US hold talks in Riyadh in bid for broad ceasefire

Matthew Martin and Daryna Krasnolutska, Bloomberg News on Mar 23, 2025

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Ukrainian and U.S. officials held talks in Riyadh, resuming efforts to end Russia’s full-scale invasion as President Donald Trump pushes for a ceasefire.

The discussion on Sunday in Saudi Arabia was “productive and focused,” and “addressed key points including energy,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on social media. U.S. and Russian delegates are expected to hold separate talks on Monday.

White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said earlier Sunday that the latest talks among “technical teams” would focus on a potential Black Sea maritime ceasefire. He suggested that would lead into discussions about “the line of control, which is the actual front lines” of the conflict, which started when Kremlin forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

“That gets into the details of verification mechanisms, peace-keeping, freezing the lines where they are,” Waltz said Sunday on CBS’s "Face the Nation." “And then, of course, the broader and permanent peace” including security guarantees for Ukraine.

Trump said Saturday that efforts to stop the war between Russia and Ukraine from escalating further are “under control.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a meeting of his military cabinet in Kharkiv focused on the talks in Saudi Arabia.

Umerov attended that meeting, along with Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Andrii Hnatov, the forces’ chief of general staff, and top Zelenskyy aides.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state television that negotiators from Moscow will be ready to discuss nuances of resumption of the Black Sea initiative in Riyadh.

As of 2024, Russia occupied an estimated 20% of Ukraine in the nation’s east and southeast, including Crimea. About 3 million Ukrainians are estimated to be living under Russian occupation, with millions more displaced and many others — including children — deported to Russia.

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(With assistance from Tony Czuczka.)

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