Ukraine believes that the agreements reached in Saudi Arabia during negotiations with the American delegation are valid. They concern the cessation of attacks on energy infrastructure, port infrastructure, and the safety of shipping in the Black Sea.
This was stated by the Deputy Head of the Presidentʼs Office Pavlo Palisa at a meeting with Ukrainian and international media, where Babel was present.
Ukraine records and transmits violations of these agreements to the American side through diplomatic channels.
It is important that Ukraine did not provide the American side with a specific list of critical infrastructure facilities, their names or coordinates. It provided the criteria for determining such facilities.
Palisa spoke about his personal impressions of the negotiations in Saudi Arabia. According to him, the American negotiators did not put pressure on the Ukrainians. They were surprised that Ukraine was ready for a ceasefire — and proposed a plan with a breakdown into “domains” (in the air, on land, at sea).
According to his personal impressions, the Russian delegation had less authority (a smaller mandate) from the leadership than the Ukrainian one.
What preceded
On March 11, another round of talks between Ukraine and the United States took place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. As a result, Ukraine agreed to an immediate temporary ceasefire — in exchange, Washington decided to resume aid and intelligence sharing. Volodymyr Zelensky said that a 30-day ceasefire would apply to the entire front line if Russia agreed to it.
On March 18, Trump spoke with Putin. They discussed, in particular, the 30-day ceasefire proposed by the United States. Putin demanded that Ukraine stop the mobilization and rearmament of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for this period. After the conversation, the parties reported that Putin allegedly supported the idea of a mutual refusal of the Russian Federation and Ukraine from attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days.
Trump spoke with Zelensky on March 19. The US president shared with the Ukrainian leader the details of his conversation with Putin. Zelensky said he was ready to support the cessation of strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure.
The US subsequently agreed with Ukraine and Russia to ban attacks in the Black Sea. However, Russian officials have said that the agreed ceasefire at sea in the Black Sea is contingent on sanctions being eased, contradicting the US statement.
Meanwhile, Russia continues massive attacks on Ukraine and its civilian infrastructure.
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