US and Russia start new round of dialogue on Ukraine in Saudi Arabia

Representatives of the United States and Russia opened a new round of negotiations Monday for a partial cease-fire in the war in Ukraine, a day after talks between Washington and Kiev.

U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for a quick end to the war that began three years ago and hopes the deliberations in Riyadh will pave the way for an understanding.

Each side has presented different plans for a temporary truce while cross-border attacks continue.

The talks were originally to be held simultaneously, but are now taking place back-to-back. The Russian news agency TASS announced at around 07H30 GMT the start of the U.S.-Russian talks, AFP reported.

The negotiations started at 07:30 Saudi Arabian local time.

The meeting of the Ukrainian team, headed by defense minister, Rustem Umerov, with the U.S. team concluded late Sunday night.

"The discussion was productive and specific. We touched on key points, especially energy," described Umerov, who added that Ukraine is making efforts to realize its goal of a "just and lasting peace."

The U.S. envoy, Steve Witkoff, was optimistic and said he expected "real progress in Saudi Arabia on Monday" with the Russians, "especially on the Black Sea."

Witkoff alluded, on Fox News, to a "cease-fire for ships between the two countries, and from there, it will naturally tend toward a full cease-fire."

Ukrainian delegation plans new meeting Monday with U.S.

TheUkrainian delegation will meet again this Monday with the U.S. delegationin the ongoing negotiations in Saudi Arabia to reach a truce with Russia, a member of the Kiev delegation said in recent hours.

"At the moment we are waiting for theresults of the U.S.-Russia meeting" also being held in Riyadh, and then there will be "another meeting with the United States," this official who declined to identify himself told several media outlets, including AFP.

Outstanding points in the talks

While hoping for a quick solution, the Kremlin on Sunday lowered expectations of immediate understanding. "It is a very complex issue and there is a lot of work to be done. We are only at the beginning of the road," the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told Russian television.

The Russian spokesman assured that there are many outstanding points to be discussed before reaching a cease-fire.

Russian President,Vladimir Putin, rejected a joint U.S.-Ukrainian call for a full and immediate 30-day pause, and rather raised stopping attacks only on energy facilities.

According to Peskov, "the main topic of discussion" with the United States would be the possible resumption of the 2022 agreement for grain exports through the Black Sea, not the end of hostilities.

"Our negotiators will be ready to discuss the nuances of this issue," Peskov said of the agreement that allowed Ukraine to export its grains, key to world food, despite the presence of the Russian fleet in the area.

Russia withdrew from the agreement in 2023 after accusing Western powers of failing to honor their commitments to ease sanctions on Russian exports of agricultural products and fertilizers.

Both sides launched drone strikes on the eve of the negotiations.

More pressure on Russia from Ukraine's allies

Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky, for his part, called on his country's allies to put more pressure on Russia. "New decisions and new pressure against Moscow are needed to put an end to these attacks and this war," he posted on social networks on Sunday.

Moscow comes to the dialogue in Riyadh after a rapprochement with the United States under Trump, which has strengthened the Kremlin's confidence.

Peskov assured that "the potential for mutually beneficial cooperation in various spheres between our countries cannot be overstated."

"We may disagree on some things but that does not mean that we have to deprive ourselves of mutual benefit," he added.