Reuters. Russian and U.S. officials wrapped up talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday (March 24) aimed at making progress towards a broad ceasefire in Ukraine with Washington eyeing a separate Black Sea maritime ceasefire deal before securing a wider agreement.
Footage showed the Russian delegation leaving the venue and posing for photos before getting into their cars. Russia's representation included Grigory Karasin, a former diplomat who is now chair of the Russian upper house of parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, and Sergei Beseda, an adviser to the director of the Federal Security Service, the main successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB.
The talks, which followed U.S. negotiations with Ukraine in Saudi Arabia on Sunday (March 23), come as U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies his drive to end the three-year-old conflict after he last week spoke to both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The White House says the aim of the talks is to reach a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, allowing the free flow of shipping, though the area has not been the location of intense military operations in recent months.
A source briefed on the planning for the talks said the U.S. side was being led by Andrew Peek, a senior director at the White House National Security Council, and Michael Anton, a senior State Department official.
