Ukraine and US prepare for technical ceasefire talks in Riyadh
Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov will head the Ukrainian delegation during talks in Saudi Arabia, Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Friday.
- Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov will lead the Ukrainian delegation in the talks in Riyadh.
- The meeting will address the ceasefire details in the war with Russia.
- Ukraine has accepted the American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, but Russia has not agreed to the proposed conditions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated, "We instructed our teams to resolve technical issues related to implementing and expanding the partial ceasefire. Ukrainian and American teams are ready to meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to continue co-ordinating steps toward peace."
Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi stressed that the meeting scheduled for Monday in Riyadh is not political but technical. "This is a meeting to establish the parameters for the various proposed ceasefire options currently on the table," said Tykhyi.
"We need to understand how it will work"
The spokesperson pointed out that a ceasefire could be in place if Vladimir Putin and Russia had accepted the proposal. Instead, he said, the Kremlin continues introducing new conditions, engaging in discussions, making proposals, and employing various tactics. Tykhyi underlined that Ukraine sees the talks in Riyadh as bilateral discussions with the United States, considering them a technical round rather than a political negotiation.
"The discussions will focus on the details and implementation of decisions made at the political level… That is, professionals from the Ukrainian and American sides should meet to clarify all the details and how everything should look. We need to understand how it will work, who will oversee it, how it will be monitored," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman conveyed.
He noted that the Ukrainian side does not know how the Americans will communicate with the Russians in Saudi Arabia. "It's their choice. But we're preparing for the talks in Saudi Arabia as a bilateral Ukrainian-American event," he declared.
This week, US President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump and Putin agreed to a 30-day ceasefire regarding energy facilities and infrastructure, but this agreement is narrower than Ukraine's accepted American proposal.
