Representatives from Russia and Ukraine attend the launch of the center overseeing the Black Sea grain deal in Istanbul, July 27, 2022. (Photo by AP)
The US says Ukraine and Russia have agreed to cease fighting in the Black Sea and to hash out the details for halting strikes on energy facilities.
Both Ukraine and Russia confirmed the agreement on Thursday, although it appeared to come with some serious caveats.
The Kremlin said a maritime ceasefire would start only if it received sanctions relief on agricultural exports.
In a statement, it said Russia would honor the agreement only after its state agriculture bank is reconnected to the international payment system and restrictions are lifted on “trade finance operations”.
The White House appeared to agree with at least some of the conditions, saying it “will help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.”
The agreements came after three days of intense negotiations in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, during which delegations from Ukraine and Russia met separately with US mediators.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, welcomed the developments but said Kiev did not support weakening sanctions on Russia and voiced concern over talks the US appeared to be having with the Kremlin about territory.
“We are worried when they talk about us without us,” Zelensky said in a media briefing, responding to comments by Donald Trump on Monday, when the US president said: “We’re talking about territory right now.”
Ukrainian negotiators had had no discussions about the future division of territory, Zelensky added, saying it appeared that the US had talked to the Kremlin team about dividing Ukraine.
A further round of negotiations to extend the ceasefire would “take place soon,” Zelensky said, although he was not any more specific on timing.
A separate statement, released by its defence ministry, said Ukraine would consider “the movement of Russian military vessels beyond the eastern Black Sea” to be a violation of the deal.
The ceasefire could begin immediately after the White House released the statements, Zelensky said, although the Black Sea situation remains ambiguous.
It would initially be self-policed, although both sides agreed other countries could become involved in safeguarding it.
The issue of shipping rights and safety in the Black Sea has created a plethora of issues for the global supply chains that depend on grain, seed oil and fertilizer exports from both countries.
The war has halted shipments of grain through the Black Sea, creating fear across the globe about food shortages.
Many countries in Africa and West Asia depend on these exports to sustain their food supplies.
