Russia, Ukraine agree to ensure safe navigation in Black Sea, US says
The United States said on Tuesday it had secured separate agreements with Ukraine and Russia to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea and to ban strikes against their respective energy facilities. Ukraine has called for more talks to settle the “details” and warned that the movement of Russian warships would violate the deal.
The United States said on Tuesday it has reached separate agreements with Ukraine and Russia to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea and to implement a ban on attacks by the two countries on each other’s energy facilities.
The agreements, if implemented, would represent the clearest progress yet towards a wider ceasefire that Washington sees a stepping stone towards peace talks to bring an end to Russia’s three-year-old war in Ukraine.
The Kremlin confirmed Tuesday that Moscow had agreed to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea.
Russia and the United States have also agreed to develop measures to halt strikes on Russian and Ukrainian energy facilities for a period of 30 days that began on March 18, it added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the truce was effective immediately on Tuesday and that he would seek more weapons and sanctions on Russia from US President Donald Trump if Moscow broke the deals.
“If the Russians violate this, then I have a direct question for President Trump. If they violate, here is the evidence – we ask for sanctions, we ask for weapons, etc,” Zelensky told reporters at a news conference in Kyiv.
The US agreement with Russia goes further than the agreement with Ukraine, with Washington committing to help seek the lifting of international sanctions on Russian agriculture and fertiliser exports, long a Russian demand.
The Kremlin said the Black Sea agreements would not come into effect unless links between some Russian banks and the international financial system were restored.
Zelensky said this was untrue, and that the deals did not require sanctions relief to come into force. Speaking in his nightly address to Ukrainians, he accused Moscow of trying to “distort” the agreements and “deceive” the world.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said Kyiv had agreed to both a maritime ceasefire and a pause by Russia and Ukraine in attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure.
But he said Kyiv would regard any movement of Russian military vessels outside the eastern part of the Black Sea as a violation and a threat.
