US, Ukraine conclude ‘productive’ talks in Riyadh; Zelensky urges Putin to ‘give a real order to stop the strikes’

Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov has said that talks between US and Ukrainian delegations in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh were “productive and focused,” while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of prolonging the war and urged President Vladimir Putin to “give a real order to stop the strikes.”

In a post on Sunday on social media platform X, Umerov, who led the Ukrainian delegation, highlighted that the discussion addressed key points, including energy, and reiterated that Zelensky’s goal is “to secure a just and lasting peace” for Ukraine and Europe at large. “We are working to make that goal a reality,” he said.

The Ukrainian and US teams met earlier in the day in Riyadh, Chinese news agency reported.

According to the Ukrinform news agency, the Ukrainian delegation also included State Secretary of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Oleksandr Karasevych, deputy heads of the President's Office, Pavlo Palisa and Ihor Zhovkva, as well as Deputy Energy Minister Mykola Kolisnyk.

The talks came almost two weeks after a previous meeting between the two sides in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, where Ukraine agreed to a US-proposed 30-day ceasefire plan in exchange for Washington lifting its pause on military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv.

Notably, the meeting precedes the talks between US and Russian delegations scheduled for Monday.

Media reported late Sunday that the Russian delegation had arrived in Riyadh. The delegation includes Grigory Karasin, chairman of the committee on international affairs in Russia's Upper House, and Sergey Beseda, Adviser to the head of Russia's Federal Security Service, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said earlier.

Originally scheduled to take place simultaneously to enable shuttle diplomacy—with the US mediating between the delegations—the technical-level talks on a partial truce are now happening separately, one after the other.

In an evening address, Zelensky said, “Russia is the only one who is dragging this war out.” He added, “No matter what we talk about with our partners, we need to push Putin to give a real order to stop the strikes: the one who brought this war must take it away.”

Discussions between the United States and Russia are set for Monday, with Russian state media reporting that Moscow’s delegation had arrived in Riyadh on Sunday.

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff voiced optimism that any agreement reached could pave the way for a “full-on” ceasefire.

“I think you’re going to see in Saudi Arabia on Monday some real progress, particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries. And from that, you'll naturally gravitate to a full-on shooting ceasefire,” he told Fox News.

However, the Kremlin downplayed expectations of a rapid resolution, saying talks were just beginning.

“We are only at the beginning of this path,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state TV.

He noted that many outstanding questions remained regarding the implementation of a potential ceasefire.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected a joint US-Ukrainian call for a full and immediate 30-day pause, instead proposing a halt in attacks only on energy facilities.

“There are difficult negotiations ahead,” Peskov said in the interview, published on social media.

He added that the “main” focus of Russia’s talks with the US would be a possible resumption of the 2022 Black Sea grain deal, which ensured safe navigation for Ukrainian farm exports via the Black Sea.

“On Monday, we mainly intend to discuss President Putin's agreement to resume the so-called Black Sea initiative, and our negotiators will be ready to discuss the nuances around this problem,” Peskov said.

Moscow withdrew from the deal—brokered by Turkey and the United Nations—in 2023, accusing the West of failing to uphold its commitments to ease sanctions on Russia’s own exports of farm produce and fertilizers.

Both sides launched fresh drone attacks on the eve of the negotiations.

Ukrainian officials said a Russian drone attack killed three civilians in Kyiv, including a five-year-old girl and her father.

The US government announced that Zelensky agreed in the talks to halt attacks on Russian energy facilities.

Ukraine suggested that its delegation would discuss with its US counterpart a proposal to halt attacks on infrastructure facilities as well when they meet in Riyadh.

The US team is expected to hold talks with Russian officials on Monday.

Observers are closely watching whether the talks can make any progress that would lead to a ceasefire.

(This story was taken from a syndicated feed and was only edited for style by Gujarat Samachar Digital team)