Ukraine ceasefire talks planned for March 23 in Jeddah: US
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Washington has been pushing for a full, 30-day ceasefire as a first step towards a wider settlement of the grinding three-year-old war.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - Talks on a ceasefire in Russia’s war with Ukraine will continue on March 23 in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said on March 18.
In an interview with Fox News hours after Mr Trump held a lengthy phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin
Mr Witkoff said the US delegation in Saudi Arabia would be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, but did not indicate who they would be holding talks with.
Referring to a ceasefire on energy infrastructure and targets in the Black Sea, Mr Witkoff said: “I think both of those are now agreed to by the Russians. I am certainly hopeful that the Ukrainians will agree to it.”
Ukraine on March 19 accused Russia of effectively rejecting the US-backed ceasefire proposal, reporting a barrage of strikes on civilian infrastructure
Washington has been pushing for a full, 30-day ceasefire as a first step towards a wider settlement of the grinding three-year-old war.
In a 90-minute call with Mr Trump on March 18, Mr Putin refused, insisting that any such deal would be contingent on Ukraine’s allies halting all military aid.
According to the Kremlin, Mr Putin has already ordered his military to pause strikes against Ukrainian energy targets for 30 days.
Mr Witkoff, however, reiterated that the proposed ceasefire included “energy and infrastructure in general”.
Mr Trump’s envoy commended Mr Putin “for all he did today on that call to move his country close to a final peace deal”.
Mr Witkoff said that with consensus around energy and infrastructure targets as well as those in the Black Sea, he believed “it’s a relatively short distance to a full ceasefire from there”. AFP
