RIYADH — The United States said on Tuesday that an agreement was reached to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea as it wrapped up three days of talks with Ukrainian and Russian delegations in the Saudi capital Riyadh on prospective steps toward a limited ceasefire. U.S. experts met separately with Ukrainian and Russian representatives and the talks resulted in reaching important understandings with regard to achieving peace in Ukraine. During the meetings held in Riyadh on March 23-25, the United States and Russia have agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea, the White House said in a statement. The talks would lead to enforce a ban on attacks by Russia and Ukraine on each other's energy facilities. The United States 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 statement said that the US and Russia agreed to develop measures for implementing an agreement reached between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to ban strikes against energy facilities of Russia and Ukraine. The two countries also welcomed the good offices of third countries with a view toward supporting the implementation of the energy and maritime agreements. In the statement, the United States expressed its gratitude to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his leadership and hospitality in once again facilitating these important discussions in Saudi Arabia. The United States facilitated bilateral technical-level talks with the Russian delegation in Riyadh in line with presidential-level discussions over phone held between President Trump and Russian President Putin. The statement emphasized that the US will continue facilitating negotiations between both sides to achieve a peaceful resolution, in line with the agreements made in Riyadh. While a comprehensive peace deal still looks distant, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the talks as the early "right steps" toward a peaceful settlement of the 3-year-old war. "These are the first steps — not the very first but initial ones — with this presidential administration toward completely ending the war and the possibility of a full ceasefire, as well as steps toward a sustainable and fair peace agreement," he said at a news conference. The deal appears to mark another attempt to ensure safe Black Sea shipping after a 2022 agreement that was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey but halted by Russia the next year. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in televised comments on Tuesday that Moscow is now open to the revival of the Black Sea shipping deal but warned that Russian interests must be protected. The Kremlin announced that Russia had agreed to ensure the safety of navigation in the Black Sea. The Kremlin also confirmed that the United States had agreed to help Russia regain access to the global market for its agricultural and fertilizer exports, but set several conditions. "The Black Sea deal could only be implemented after sanctions against the Russian Agricultural Bank and other financial organizations involved in food and fertilizer trade are lifted and their access to the SWIFT system of international payments is ensured," it said.
