A deal in the desert? US and Ukraine meet ahead of Russia ceasefire talks

According to a report from Riyadh by Frank Gardner, the BBC's security correspondent, American negotiators are holding separate talks in the Saudi capital with representatives from Ukraine and Russia. Washington's goal is to facilitate an immediate partial ceasefire in the Ukraine war and, ultimately, a comprehensive peace agreement.

Can the talks in Riyadh achieve a breakthrough? Opinions vary on this matter. Steve Witkoff, President Trump's personal envoy, stated, "I think Putin wants peace," adding, "I think you're going to see some real progress in the talks in Saudi Arabia." However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov lowered expectations, stating on Russian state television, "We are only just beginning this path."

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said in his Sunday evening address, "We need to push Putin to issue real orders to stop the attacks. The person who started this war must end it." This comes after Kyiv suffered one of the most intense attacks from Russian drones, resulting in the deaths of three people, including a five-year-old girl. The Kremlin does not appear to be in a hurry to sign a ceasefire agreement, with Putin adding many "nuances" or preconditions to the 30-day ceasefire agreement proposed by Washington and agreed to by Kyiv.

Reportedly, the Russian side hopes to revive an agreement that would allow Ukraine to export grain from its ports without being attacked, in exchange for easing sanctions; Black Sea shipping lanes are also under discussion. Both Russia and Ukraine have carried out highly destructive attacks on each other's infrastructure. Moscow is attempting to plunge the Ukrainian people into cold and darkness by attacking Ukraine's power generation facilities, while Kyiv has become increasingly successful in long-range drone attacks that have struck oil facilities critical to Russia's war effort.

President Trump hopes to quickly end this war, the worst in Europe since 1945, which has resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties, captures, injuries, or disappearances on both sides. However, despite the US failing to persuade Moscow to agree to a ceasefire, the Trump administration has, at least publicly, not put any pressure on Russia to comply. In fact, the opposite is true. Witkoff even suggested that Ukraine is a "false country," that Russia was provoked, and that Putin is a trustworthy person who keeps his promises.