28 March 2025

Riyadh talks agree on Black Sea fighting lull, not full ceasefire

Stephen Bryen

​The White House released two statements on the result of the negotiations in Riyadh. Both White House statements highlight the Black Sea as the main topic.

There was a significant difference in the delegations for these “technical level” discussions.

The US delegation was led by Andrew Peek, a senior director at the White House National Security Council, and Michael Anton, a senior State Department official. The Russian delegation was led by Sergey Beseda, who is an adviser to FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov. Grigory Karasin, a career diplomat and former deputy foreign minister, participated with Beseda.

The Ukrainian delegation differed significantly It was headed by Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s defense minister. Pavlo Palisa, a top military adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, was present, as well as several military officers.

The Ukrainians met with the US side on Sunday, March 23 and a second time after the conclusion of the US-Russia meeting.

From what we know, the US-Russia meeting stretched over a 12 hour period. The second Ukrainian meeting with the US has been described as quite brief.

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