After discussions with Ukrainian diplomats on Sunday, a U.S. delegation will meet with Russian officials to discuss progress towards a Black Sea ceasefire as well as a wider cessation in violence in the Ukraine war.

The so-called "technical talks" come as U.S. president Donald Trump intensifies efforts to stop Russia's three year-old offensive against Ukraine. He spoke last week with both the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian president Vladimir Putin.

According to a source who was briefed about the preparations for the talks, the U.S. team would be led by Andrew Peek - a senior director of the White House National Security Council - and Michael Anton - a senior State Department representative.

On Sunday evening, they met with Ukrainians and will meet with Russians on Monday.

The White House has stated that the goal of the talks will be to achieve a maritime truce in the Black Sea allowing free shipping.

White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said on CBS' "Face the Nation", Sunday, that the U.S. delegations and those of the Russians and Ukrainians were gathered in the same Riyadh facility.

He said that the teams would discuss the "line of control" (which he called "verification, peacekeeping and freezing the lines in place) between the two countries. He said that "confidence-building" measures are being discussed. This includes the return of Ukrainian kids taken by Russia.

The Russian delegation will be led by Grigory Karsin, former diplomat and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council, as well as Sergei Beseda who is an advisor to the Director of the Federal Security Service.

Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's Defence Minister and the head of its delegation, Rustem Umerov, stated on Facebook that U.S. Ukraine talks include proposals to protect critical infrastructure, energy facilities, and energy.

After Russian forces gained ground in 2024, Trump changed U.S. war policy, starting bilateral talks with Moscow, and suspending the military assistance provided to Ukraine. He demanded that Ukraine take action to end the conflict.

Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow early in March and played down fears among Washington's NATO partners that Moscow might be emboldened to invade its neighbors by the deal.

"I don't think he is going to try and take over all of Europe," said Witkoff. Witkoff said to Fox News that this is a very different situation from World War Two.

Witkoff, a Witkoff analyst, said: "I sense that he is seeking peace."

SOMETHING IS UNDER CONTROL

Trump has promised for years to put an end to Europe's most deadly conflict since World War Two. His outreach to Putin, however, has alarmed European allies who fear that it signals a fundamental change in U.S. policy after 80 years of defending Europe against Russian expansionism.

The war has caused the death or injury of hundreds of thousands, forced millions to flee their homes and left entire towns in ruins.

Putin, whose troops invaded Ukraine in Feb 2022, stated earlier this month that he supported Washington's proposed truce in principle, but his forces will continue to fight until several key conditions are met.

Heorhii Tikhyi said that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Heorhii was due to clarify on Friday, "the modalities and nuances of different possible ceasefire regimes; how to monitor, control, and in general what is included within their scope."

Putin accepted Trump's request that Russia and Ukraine cease attacks on their energy infrastructures for 30 days. He also ordered the Russian military not to continue them.

However, the agreement was not as comprehensive as the U.S. and Kyiv had hoped for, a 30-day blanket truce.

Trump said that the efforts to prevent further escalation of the Ukraine-Russian conflict are "somewhat controlled" on Saturday.

Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the plans, reported Sunday that the U.S. is hoping to achieve a ceasefire agreement within weeks.

Russia and Ukraine both reported continuing strikes. Russian forces also continued to slowly advance in eastern Ukraine, which Moscow claims it has annexed.

(source: Reuters)