U.S. and Russian officials held another round of talks earlier this week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The results are not the complete ceasefire President Donald Trump seeks, but perhaps another small step toward it.
U.S. and Russian officials agreed the warring parties will cease military strikes on shipping vessels in the Black Sea, according to a White House readout of the talks. “The United States and Russia have agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea,” the statement reads.
Russia also agreed to develop measures for implementing President Trump’s and President Vladimir Putin’s earlier agreement to cease strikes on Ukrainian and Russian energy facilities. On March 18, Putin agreed to a ceasefire on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. A translation from the Kremlin’s perspective of the agreement even indicated the Russian president gave the command for immediate implementation. But apparently neither side has actually abided by the agreement.
Stopping Sanctions
This week’s talks also yielded agreement that the United States would work to open a path for Russia to re-enter the world market. According to the White House readout:
The United States will help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.
Since its invasion into Ukraine, Russia has been hit with thousands of sanctions designed to cripple its economy, military industry, and energy sector. The United States has leveled most of the sanctions — more than 6,000 — but Canada, Switzerland, the European Union, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan have each issued at least 1,000 sanctions against Russia.
U.S. and Russian officials said they will continue talks in efforts to achieve lasting peace.
The Trump administration is facing criticism that it’s siding with the Kremlin in these talks, and not just from Ukraine’s president. The Wall Street Journal editorial board published an editorial on Monday titled, “Steve Witkoff Takes the Kremlin’s Side.” The editors of the WSJ criticized Witkoff for saying Putin doesn’t want to overrun Europe or even control Ukraine. Witkoff also got heat for defending Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea by saying the region was mostly Russian anyway.
The main question regarding these talks is whether Putin is serious about peace, or if he’s just dragging out the process so Russia can permanently acquire more of Ukraine.
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