Washington: A U.S. delegation is set to push for a Black Sea truce and broader peace efforts in Ukraine during talks with Russian officials on Monday. This follows discussions with Ukrainian diplomats on Sunday, as Washington intensifies efforts to end the three-year-long war between Russia and Ukraine.
The technical discussions come amid a renewed push by U.S. President Donald Trump to broker an end to the conflict. Last week, Trump engaged in separate calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, emphasizing the need for diplomatic progress.
Key Figures in the Talks
According to sources familiar with the meeting preparations, Andrew Peek, a senior director at the White House National Security Council, and Michael Anton, a top State Department official, are leading the U.S. delegation. The team met with Ukrainian officials on Sunday night and is scheduled to meet with their Russian counterparts on Monday.
The White House has stated that the primary goal of these discussions is to establish a maritime truce in the Black Sea, ensuring unrestricted trade and de-escalation in the region.
On Sunday, White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that U.S., Russian, and Ukrainian representatives were convening at the same location in Riyadh. Beyond a Black Sea truce, discussions will also cover “the line of control” between Russia and Ukraine, including verification measures, peacekeeping, and freezing territorial advances. Waltz also noted that confidence-building measures, such as the return of Ukrainian children detained by Russia, were under consideration.
Russia’s delegation will include Grigory Karasin, chairman of the Federation Council’s Foreign Affairs Committee and a former diplomat, alongside Sergei Beseda, an adviser to the director of the Federal Security Service.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister, Rustem Umerov, who leads the Ukrainian delegation, stated on Facebook that the U.S.-Ukraine talks also addressed measures to protect energy facilities and critical infrastructure.
Policy Shift and Concerns Among Allies
Following Russian advances in 2024, Trump reversed U.S. policy on the war, initiating direct talks with Moscow and suspending military aid to Ukraine while urging Kyiv to take steps toward ending the conflict.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, who met with Putin in Moscow in early March, sought to allay concerns among NATO allies that any deal could embolden Moscow to expand its aggression.
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“I just don’t see that he wants to take all of Europe. This is a much different situation than it was in World War Two,” Witkoff told Fox News. “I feel that he wants peace.”
Ceasefire Negotiations and Ongoing Hostilities
Trump has consistently pledged to bring an end to Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two. However, his outreach to Putin has unsettled European allies, who fear a potential shift in U.S. foreign policy that could weaken longstanding commitments to European security.
The war has resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties, displaced millions, and reduced entire towns to rubble.
Earlier this month, Putin indicated his general support for Washington’s proposed truce but insisted that Russian forces would continue fighting until key conditions were met. Heorhii Tykhyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, said on Friday that discussions with the U.S. were aimed at clarifying “the modalities, the nuances of possible different ceasefire regimes, how to monitor them, how to control them, in general, what is included in their scope.”
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Last Tuesday, Putin agreed to Trump’s proposal for a 30-day halt to attacks on energy infrastructure by both Russia and Ukraine. However, this fell short of the comprehensive ceasefire sought by Washington and Kyiv.
Trump stated on Saturday that efforts to contain further escalation in the Ukraine-Russia conflict were “somewhat under control.”
According to Bloomberg News, the U.S. is aiming for a broader ceasefire agreement within weeks, with a target date of April 20. Despite diplomatic efforts, hostilities continue, with reports of ongoing strikes and Russian forces advancing slowly in eastern Ukraine, a region Moscow claims to have annexed.
