Found an error?
Report nowIn Saudi Arabia, US mediators are negotiating separately with Russian and Ukrainian representatives on steps to end the war. What to expect from the talks?
Despite all the talks held so far between the US and the warring parties Russia and Ukraine about a temporary ceasefire, there is no end in sight to the fighting. This is set to change with new negotiations in Saudi Arabia, when US mediators talk to representatives of Russia and Ukraine. The warring parties are physically separated from each other. The first talks between the Americans and the Ukrainians took place on Sunday, and on Monday morning the US representatives were due to hold talks with the Russians. There is a lot to clarify - with unclear prospects of success. Here are some questions and answers on the current state of affairs:
Washington expects Moscow and Kiev to silence the weapons soon. Ukraine has confirmed in advance that it is prepared to accept a 30-day ceasefire and wants to clarify the technical details in particular. Initially, the ceasefire will be limited to energy facilities, with President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasizing the importance of including civilian infrastructure.
Ukraine also wants to achieve a ceasefire for strikes against infrastructure during the negotiations in Saudi Arabia. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone
Following a telephone conversation between Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, Moscow emphasized that a ceasefire for air strikes against energy facilities was already in force on the Russian side. Putin had instructed this after the conversation on Tuesday. However, the attacks on alleged military targets in Ukraine using drones and glide bombs are continuing. In Russia's view, further talks are needed to put an end to these strikes - on Moscow's terms. Kiev sees this as Moscow's intention to prolong the war.
From Russia's point of view, Riyadh should also specifically discuss an initiative for safe navigation in the Black Sea; the US proposal for a ceasefire in the waters is under discussion. An earlier agreement mediated by Turkey, which was intended to enable the safe transportation of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea, was terminated by Russia. Ukraine wants security guarantees after the strategically important port of Odessa in particular has been repeatedly shelled by the Russians.
Keith Kellogg, the special envoy for Ukraine appointed by US President Donald Trump, explained in advance that various teams were conducting the negotiations. In addition to his team, there was one from the US National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, and one from the US State Department. Kellogg said that talks were being held with the Ukrainians in one room and with the Russians in another. A shuttle service between the two sides is planned.
Ukraine is sending Defense Minister Rustem Umjerow to the talks. President Zelensky had appointed his chancellery chief Andriy Yermak as chief negotiator. Neither the Ukrainians nor the Russians are sending representatives from their foreign ministries this time, as both sides announced in advance.
According to the Kremlin, Russia is represented in Riyadh by foreign policy expert Georgi Karassin, head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Federation Council, and intelligence officer Sergei Besseda. The 70-year-old Besseda is an advisor to the FSB domestic intelligence service, was active in Kiev in times of crisis and is considered a confidant of Kremlin leader Putin. At the FSB, he once headed the Fifth Service, which is responsible for spying on and monitoring countries of the former Soviet Union - especially Ukraine - as reported by the media.
One of the Americans' short-term goals is a ceasefire in the Black Sea. Trump and Putin also discussed this in their joint telephone call a few days ago and agreed to negotiate it. In principle, however, Washington's aim is to persuade Putin to end the war of aggression quickly. Trump promised a swift end to the war during the election campaign, but is now making little progress. How much influence he actually has over Putin remains uncertain. It is also questionable how accurate Trump's account of the negotiations following his talks with Putin and Zelensky is. Afterwards, there were contradictory statements from all sides about what was really discussed.
The US special envoy Steve Witkoff is currently likely to have the closest contact with the Kremlin. He has already been received twice by Putin and made conspicuously positive comments about the Kremlin leader afterwards. "I don't want to sound like an eternal optimist, but I am very, very optimistic that we will be able to bring the two sides together," Witkoff said with regard to the talks in Saudi Arabia.
In the long term, the USA is also pursuing the goal of improving relations with Moscow again - not least because of growing concerns about the close alliance between Russia and China.
For Ukraine, the talks are about its own survival. It is under severe military pressure. If the country loses the backing of the West and thus the military aid, it will not be able to withstand the Russian onslaught. Kiev must therefore at least demonstrate its goodwill to the White House, even if the concessions negotiated in advance for peace - renouncing NATO membership, but also its own large territories in favor of the aggressor Russia - are putting the leadership under domestic political pressure. According to surveys, half of the population is still strictly against giving up their own territories.
It is important for Ukraine to receive security guarantees in return for its own concessions. There is little trust in the war opponent Russia. Kiev is therefore relying on international peacekeeping forces.
In view of its successes on the front in taking territory, Russia is playing for time and wants to increase the pressure on Ukraine in order to force ever greater concessions. Russian commentators say that Kremlin boss Putin would prefer a new political start in the country with a Russia-friendly leadership.
In the talks with the Americans, Moscow has expressed its willingness to negotiate a peaceful solution. At the same time, the Kremlin has its sights set on increasing militarization in Europe and accuses the EU in particular of being interested in a continuation of the war with its arms deliveries and "financing of the Kiev regime".
Putin has repeatedly made it clear that there can be no end to the fighting without an end to Western arms supplies to Ukraine and a halt to mobilization in the neighbouring country. He also continues to insist that Ukraine renounce its NATO membership and at least its territories controlled by Russia, which make up around a fifth of the country.
A quick solution to this complex conflict is not in sight. During the election campaign, US President Trump promised to end the conflict quickly and is therefore under pressure to succeed. However, he is up against a tough negotiating position, particularly on the Russian side. Russia has not yet agreed to the 30-day ceasefire proposed by the USA and supported by Ukraine, so as not to give Kiev any breathing space in the war.
Kremlin leader Putin, who is considered a shrewd negotiator after more than 25 years in power, is likely to keep Trump happy with small concessions. As he says, he is primarily interested in a resumption of relations with the USA and an end to sanctions so that trade between the two countries can flourish once again and the economy can benefit.
However, a full-fledged ceasefire is extremely unlikely as long as Europe, for example, continues its military support for Ukraine, says Russian political scientist Tatyana Stanovaya. Moscow would be satisfied, she says, if Trump next persuaded Europe to stop its aid to Ukraine. Putin is not interested in a complete conquest of Ukraine, for which he has no reserves. "His strategy is to wait for Ukraine to capitulate through its self-recognition that the resistance has no prospects," says Stanovaya. So far, however, this is also unlikely.
24.03.2025, 06:05
24.03.2025, 06:32
