The United States is waiting for Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev to report to Russian President Vladimir Putin before both sides move on to the next steps, Bloomberg news agency quoted a person familiar with the talks as saying.
Journalists say U.S. officials are increasingly frustrated by Moscow’s slowness in the talks. What appeared to be a breakthrough last week regarding a partial truce in the Black Sea quickly evaporated after Russian officials said it depended on the easing of sanctions. That assertion contradicted a US statement outlining the parameters of the agreement.
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US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian representative Dmitriev met on Wednesday and Thursday in Washington, days after US President Donald Trump expressed frustration with Vladimir Putin over the lack of momentum in ceasefire talks in the war in Ukraine.
In an interview with CNN on Thursday after the meetings, Dmitriev said: “Steve was really focused on finding solutions. I think there is an understanding of how we can move towards finalising an agreement and there was a lot of discussion in that direction.”
Following talks with the US side in Riyadh, the Kremlin said on March 25 that the agreement to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea would allegedly come into force after a number of sanctions on Russia were lifted, in particular sanctions on Russian state-owned bank Rosselkhozbank and organisations involved in international trade in food and fertilisers.
Bloomberg reported on 28 March that Russia is demanding that the European Union (EU) reconnect Rosselkhozbank to the SWIFT international banking system as a prerequisite for implementing the Black Sea ceasefire as a test to determine whether the United States will comply with Russia’s demands and encourage European partners to support sanctions relief. Europe believes that it is too early for the easing of sanctions against Russia.
On 11 March, U.S. representatives managed to get Ukraine to agree to a 30-day ceasefire.Putin did not reject the idea but put forward his own conditions.
Ukraine and Russia also exchanged accusations of non-compliance with the terms of the partial cease-fire, including strikes on each other’s energy facilities.