Kiev, Mar 28: Ukraine is ready to proceed with a ceasefire prohibiting attacks on energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, in line with a deal that was brokered by the United States during three days of negotiations with Ukrainian and Russian officials in the Saudi capital.Speaking in a video address late Tuesday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine had agreed with US negotiators āthat a ceasefire for energy infrastructure can start today.ā But, he warned, any strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities by Moscow would draw āstrong retaliation.ā
The comments underscored the tenuous agreements that came out of the three days of separate US-Ukrainian and US-Russian talks in Riyadh.
Washington said it had agreed with the warring parties to implement a pause on attacks on energy infrastructure as well as taking steps to ensure safe navigation for ships in the Black Sea.
Those talks were part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump’s administration toward a limited, 30-day ceasefire that Moscow and Kyiv agreed to in principle last week, but has thus far failed to materialize as both sides continue to launch drone and rocket attacks against the other.
While Zelenskyy on Tuesday thanked the US for its efforts to strike an agreement, questions remained over some key details, and a comprehensive peace deal to end the three-year war still looked distant.
Russia links the Black Sea deal to sanctions relief
On Tuesday, the White House said in separate statements that the sides had āagreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.ā
Details of the prospective deal were not released, but it appeared to mark another attempt to ensure safe Black Sea shipping after a 2022 agreement that was brokered by the UN and Turkiye but halted by Russia the next year.
After the White House issued its statement Tuesday, the Kremlin warned that a potential Black Sea deal could only be implemented after sanctions against the Russian Agricultural Bank and other financial organisations involved in food and fertilizer trade are lifted and their access to the SWIFT system of international payments is ensured.
Zelenskyy on Tuesday evening reacted to those demands, casting them as an example of Moscow āmanipulating, twisting agreements, and lyingā about the terms of the agreement.