Ukrainian servicemen attend a ceremony of awarding challenge coins following a military training at an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region on Sunday --AFP RIYADH, Mar 24 (AFP): American and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia to discuss a partial ceasefire in Ukraine on Monday, a day after US-Ukraine talks there and as President Donald Trump pushes to quickly end the war.
The US and Russian teams huddled behind closed doors at a luxurious hotel in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, with a possible revival of a 2022 Black Sea ceasefire on the table.
The Ukrainian team, which held talks with US officials in the same venue on Sunday, waited nearby in case of progress, an official told AFP.
"There may be a new meeting" between the Ukraine and US delegations on Monday, "but it depends on the outcome of the talks between the Americans and the Russians," the senior Ukrainian official said.
"The Ukrainian delegation is waiting there for now." Trump is pressing for a rapid end to the three-year war and hopes the latest round of talks in Riyadh could pave the way for a breakthrough.
Earlier this month in Jeddah-days after President Volodymyr Zelensky's White House dressing-down by Trump-Ukraine agreed to a US-proposed, 30-day ceasefire that was then rejected by the Russians.
Officials are now studying a possible resumption of the Black Sea Initiative, a year-long agreement that allowed millions of tonnes of grain and other food exports to be shipped from Ukraine's ports.
Ukraine says talks with
US on war 'productive'
US and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia wrapped up "productive and focused" talks Sunday night on de-escalating the war with Russia, whose delegation was set to hold its own separate discussions with the Americans on Monday.
US President Donald Trump is pushing for a rapid end to the three-year war and hopes the talks in Riyadh can pave the way to a breakthrough, but the Kremlin has warned of "difficult negotiations" ahead.
Despite both warring sides proposing different plans for temporary ceasefires, attacks have continued unabated.
Originally scheduled to take place simultaneously to enable shuttle diplomacy-with the US going back and forth between the delegations-the technical-level talks on a partial truce are now taking place separately, one after the other.
The meeting between the Ukrainian team, led by defence minister Rustem Umerov, and the Americans finished up late Sunday night, Umerov said.
"The discussion was productive and focused-we addressed key points including energy," he said on social media, adding Ukraine was working to make its goal of a "just and lasting peace" a reality.
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