Following three days of peace talks in Saudi Arabia, it was announced that Russia and Ukraine have agreed on a ceasefire in the Black Sea. The leaders of the two countries agreed to this separately during their meetings with US diplomats.
The US government statement said both Russian and Ukrainian representatives would continue to work towards a lasting peace. The statement did not specify when the ceasefire would come into effect.
The British broadcaster BBC reported that the Russian government said the ceasefire would only come into effect if a series of trade sanctions against the country were lifted.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told a news conference in Kiev that the agreement to end the conflict in the Black Sea was a step in the right direction, but it was too early to say whether the ceasefire would be implemented.
US President Donald Trump was asked this evening about easing trade sanctions. He told reporters that it was being considered. According to the BBC, the aforementioned US government announcement states that the US plans to help Russia bring food and fertiliser back to the world market.
After Russia’s occupation of Crimea began in February 2022, a peace deal was reached in the Black Sea region later that year. Ukraine and Russia export large amounts of grain, the price of which rose sharply on the world market shortly after the war began. The agreement was designed to allow cargo ships to travel to and from Ukraine without the risk of a Russian attack. Russia terminated the agreement in the summer of 2023 after the Ukrainian government said the terms of the agreement were not being met.
The 2022 Black Sea Initiative, also known as the grain deal, envisaged the export of Ukrainian grain via Black Sea ports and the normalization of exports of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to world markets.
According to Russia, contrary to the agreements, the West exported most of the Ukrainian grain to its own countries, and the main goal of the agreement - to supply grain to needy countries - never materialized.
At the same time, Moscow withdrew from the agreement in July 2023, as its obligations towards Russia were not fulfilled.
