New Round of Talks on Russia-Ukraine Conflict in Riyadh

From March 23rd to 24th local time, the US delegation held talks with the Ukrainian and Russian delegations respectively in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, launching a new round of negotiations on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

On March 25th, it was noticed that the two talks lasted more than 28 hours in total. Among them, the talks between the US and Russia lasted more than 12 hours, while the talks between the US and Ukraine lasted only about 5 hours. Some international affairs experts recently stated that in Trump's foreign policy, the top priority is to ease the diplomatic relations with Russia, and 'ending the Ukraine crisis' is an unavoidable issue for the easing of Russia-US relations.

On March 24th, in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, the hotel where the US and Russian delegations held talks. (Photo provided by relevant source)

“One group is in this room, and the other group is in that room. It's a bit like shuttle diplomacy in a hotel.” Before the bilateral talks among Russia, the US, and Ukraine in Saudi Arabia, the US special envoy for Ukraine issues, Keith Kellogg, once explained the mode of the relevant talks. The US side would hold talks with the Russian delegation and the Ukrainian delegation in different rooms. Originally, the US planned to conduct the US-Ukraine and US-Russia negotiations simultaneously, with the US shuttling between the two negotiations to convey the positions and opinions of each side to the other in real - time.

On the morning of the 24th local time, the US and Russian delegations held talks in Riyadh. It is understood that the professional technical delegations of the two countries focused on discussing the safety initiative regarding Black Sea shipping. After lasting more than 12 hours, the talks finally ended. Previously, some reports quoted relevant people as saying that a joint statement on the negotiation results would be released on the 25th.

One day before the US - Russia talks (on the 23rd), the US and Ukraine had already held a round of talks on key issues such as energy. Compared with the more than 12 - hour talks between the US and Russia, the talks between the US and Ukraine were much shorter, lasting only about 5 hours. It is reported that the Ukrainian and US delegations will hold talks again on the 25th local time.

While these negotiations were taking place, the Russia - Ukraine conflict continued. On the evening of the 24th local time, the Sumy City Council in Ukraine issued a message on its official website, saying that the Russian army launched a missile attack on the city center of Sumy in the afternoon, leaving 88 people injured.

Recently, an associate professor from the School of Politics and International Relations of Lanzhou University analyzed that in Trump's foreign policy, the top priority is to ease the diplomatic relations with Russia, and 'ending the Ukraine crisis' is an unavoidable issue for the easing of Russia - US relations. In addition, the direct contact and communication between Russia and the US reflect Trump's consistent principle of 'America First'.

In his view, with Trump's promotion, Russia and Ukraine may start the negotiation process to politically resolve the Russia - Ukraine conflict. However, it is obvious that this will be a complex and long - term process. All parties may first reach a temporary agreement to press the 'pause button' on the conflict.

It was noticed that Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian President, publicly stated on the 23rd that it is impossible to resolve the conflict without eliminating the root causes of the Ukraine crisis. Russia and the US still have a long way to go in resolving the Russia - Ukraine conflict, and there is no need to be overly optimistic about the prospects. According to Peskov's response to media questions on the 24th, the Russian and US delegations have no plan to sign any documents after the talks.

According to the news on the 25th, Vladimir Chizhov, the first deputy chairman of the Defense and Security Committee of the Russian Federation Council, said that due to the position of the Ukrainian side, the Russian and US sides failed to reach a joint statement after the consultations in Riyadh.