This afternoon, talks have begun in Saudi Arabia to seek an end to the war in Ukraine. At this hour, the Washington and Kiev delegations are meeting, focusing on the protection of energy facilities and civilian infrastructure. A meeting between US and Russian representatives is scheduled for Monday.
US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, expressed on Sunday that he expects progress. "I believe we will see real progress, especially regarding the ceasefire in the Black Sea for ships between both countries," he responded in an interview with Fox News. However, no one dares to predict if the progress in specific points could lead to a 30-day truce or even an agreed end to the war in Ukraine.
Zelensky states that Ukraine is "constructive" in the talks in Saudi Arabia
The Ukrainian delegation in the talks with the US in Saudi Arabia is as constructive as possible, and the talks are useful, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Sunday.
"Our team is working in a completely constructive manner. The talks are quite useful, and the work of the delegations continues," Zelensky said in a televised statement. "But no matter what we say today to our partners, we have to get (Vladimir) Putin to give a real order to stop the attacks. Whoever provoked this war must withdraw it," he added.
Initially, Ukraine and Russia were to meet separately with the US delegation on Monday, composed of US Special Envoy for Ukraine, General Keith Kellogg, and his aides, Michael Anton, Director of Policy Planning at the State Department, as well as representatives from National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, according to 'The New York Times.'
Now, everything indicates that there will be one meeting after another, although a Ukrainian official left open the possibility that the Kiev delegation may remain in Riyadh on Monday depending on progress. On Monday, the head of the Senate's International Affairs Committee, Grigory Karasin, and the advisor to the director of the Federal Security Service (FSB, former KGB), Sergei Beseda, two experienced negotiators "very knowledgeable about international issues," according to the Kremlin, will land in Riyadh.
If the Ukrainian delegation remains in the Saudi capital, the US idea would be to conduct indirect talks, known as shuttle diplomacy, meaning the US delegation would move from one room to another in Riyadh to try to mediate between the Ukrainian and Russian representatives, as Kellogg explained on Thursday.
The first issue, the energy facilities of Ukraine and Russia
Putin and Trump agreed last week that "the move towards peace will begin" with a 30-day pause in attacks on Russian and Ukrainian energy facilities, according to the White House.
This narrowly defined ceasefire was quickly called into question, with Moscow saying that Ukraine hit an oil depot in southern Russia, while Kiev said Russia hit hospitals and homes, leaving some railways without electricity. Zelensky mentioned that Kiev would draw up a list of facilities that could be subject to the partial ceasefire. This list could include not only energy but also railway and port infrastructure, he said.
A moratorium on attacks on energy infrastructure could favor Moscow more than Kiev, as it would prevent Ukraine from carrying out long-range attacks on Russian oil facilities, a key way to inflict damage on its enemy.