Ukraine, Russia Agree to Energy Infrastructure, Black Sea Ceasefire Deal
The White House announced that Ukraine and Russia agreed to a limited ceasefire within the Black Sea.
The agreement came after three days of talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. American officials acted as mediators between Ukraine and Russia.
The Black Sea is a significant trade route.
The outline is pretty vague but the press release says the same thing for both countries (just switch out the names):
- The United States and Ukraine have agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.
- The United States and Ukraine agreed that the United States remains committed to helping achieve the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of civilian detainees, and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children.
- The United States and Ukraine agreed to develop measures for implementing President Trump’s and President Zelenskyy’s agreement to ban strikes against energy facilities of Russia and Ukraine.
- The United States and Ukraine welcome the good offices of third countries with a view toward supporting the implementation of the energy and maritime agreements.
- The United States and Ukraine will continue working toward achieving a durable and lasting peace.
“The United States reiterated to both sides President Donald J. Trump’s imperative that the killing on both sides of the Russia-Ukraine conflict must stop, as the necessary step toward achieving an enduring peace settlement,” stated the White House. “To that end, the United States will continue facilitating negotiations between both sides to achieve a peaceful resolution, in line with the agreements made in Riyadh.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov tried to play victim on TV, acting as if Ukraine started the war:
“We will need clear guarantees,” Lavrov said in televised comments. “And given the sad experience of agreements with just Kyiv, the guarantees can only be the result of an order from Washington to Zelensky and his team to do one thing and not the other.“And it seems to me that our American partners have received this signal,” he said. “They understand that only Washington can achieve positive results in stopping terrorist attacks, stopping shelling of civilian infrastructure, energy infrastructure not related to the military-industrial complex.”
Um, you’re the ones who invaded Ukraine in 2014 and snatched Crimea. How about you stop?
Ukraine is one of the top wheat exporters in the world. Opening the Black Sea allows the country “to safely export nearly 33 million metric tons of grain.”
Russia can export its grain and fertilizers.
However, Ukraine would consider Russia moving its warships beyond the “eastern part of the Black Sea” a violation.
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