U.S. and Russia Discuss Black Sea Ceasefire Deal
The U.S. National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, will meet with his Russian counterpart to discuss a possible ceasefire deal in the Black Sea. This meeting comes after talks between U.S. and Russian delegates in Riyadh on March 24.
Waltz has been in contact with Russia’s top aide, Yuri Ushakov, to hammer out conditions for a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. The main focus of these talks was the resumption of the Black Sea Initiative, which would include a stop to hostilities in the Black Sea.
Neither party revealed details about their 12-hour talks, but Russian negotiator Grigory Karasin said that many issues were discussed, although not everything was resolved. This meeting followed a brief meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian teams on March 25.
The so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative was first brokered by the U.N. and Turkey in 2022 to allow Ukraine to ship out its grain despite Russia’s ongoing invasion. The deal broke down in 2023 after Russia withdrew, claiming that its demands had not been addressed.
Despite this, Ukraine has managed to reopen the Black Sea corridor thanks to a sustained drone and missile campaign against the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
Waltz does not plan to resign after reports of leaks of U.S. plans for strikes against Yemen. There were rumors that he might be forced out due to an embarrassing security breach involving a Signal chat with a journalist. However, Waltz told his colleagues he had never met or spoken to the journalist, according to Fox News.
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