Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed some of Russia’s conditions for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, insisting they were not part of the initial negotiation agenda.
His comments follow the U.S. announcement on Tuesday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to “eliminate the use of force” in the Black Sea after parallel talks in Saudi Arabia.
However, Russia has maintained that a maritime ceasefire would only take effect if it received sanction relief on agricultural exports. Moscow’s demands include U.S. assistance in restoring Russia’s access to global markets for agricultural and fertilizer exports, reducing maritime insurance costs, and easing access to ports and payment systems.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Washington was reviewing Russia’s conditions.
Zelenskyy, however, rejected these demands, saying, “This wasn’t in the agenda before the meeting.”
“The Russians, as far as we know, have raised the issue of American assistance to transport their agricultural products … We didn’t agree to that so that it would be in our common [statement],” he added.
Despite the disagreement, Zelenskyy expressed optimism, noting that Ukraine could now directly appeal to the White House if Russia violated the ceasefire in the coming month.
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cc: Daily Post Ng
