Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced on Sunday that talks between US and Ukrainian delegations in Saudi Arabia were "productive and focused" and with "key points including energy" addressed. The US negotiators are holding talks in Riyadh with their Ukrainian counterparts and separately with the Russians on Monday. Washington's aim is to bring about an immediate partial ceasefire to the war in Ukraine, followed by a comprehensive peace deal. "I feel that he (Putin) wants peace," said President Trump's personal envoy Steve Witkoff, adding: "I think that you're going to see in Saudi Arabia on Monday some real progress." In a post on social media platform X, Umerov, who is leading the Ukrainian delegation, emphasized that President Volodymyr Zelensky's goal is to "secure a just and lasting peace" for Ukraine and Europe at large, claiming, "We are working to make that goal a reality." The Ukrainian delegation also included State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oleksandr Karasevych, deputy heads of the President's Office – Pavlo Palisa and Ihor Zhovkva – as well as Deputy Energy Minister Mykola Kolisnyk, according to the Ukrinform news agency. Palisa confirmed on the same day that they would not be meeting with the Russian delegation in Riyadh. In a video address on Sunday evening, Zelensky said that the talks held that day between the US and Ukrainian officials were "very productive". He also called on all parties to continue to exert pressure on Russia to compel it to achieve a "genuine" ceasefire. The talks came almost two weeks after a previous meeting between the two sides in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, which saw Kyiv agree to a Washington proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, in exchange for the US lifting its pause on military aid to and intelligence sharing with Ukraine. Notably, the meeting precedes the talks between US and Russian delegations, which are scheduled to take place on Monday. The Kremlin's delegation includes the chairman of the committee on international affairs in Russia's upper house, Grigory Karasin, and adviser to the head of Russia's Federal Security Service, Sergey Beseda, according to a Russian presidential aide. US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that efforts to stop further escalation between Russia and Ukraine were "somewhat under control". He's also stated that he hopes the Riyadh talks offer a breakthrough to finally bring the more than three-year war to a close. Yet Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman has dampened expectations. "We are only at the beginning of this path," he told Russian state TV. The US-Ukraine talks began soon after nightfall on Sunday, behind closed doors. Black Sea shipping lanes are also under discussion, with Russia reportedly keen to revive a deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain from its ports without being attacked, in exchange for relief on sanctions. Both sides, Russia and Ukraine, have carried out hugely destructive attacks on each other's infrastructure. — Agencies
