Ukraine Says US Black Sea Deal 'Right Steps', Blasts Support For Russian Exports

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday welcomed US-brokered agreements towards Ukraine and Russia halting strikes in the Black Sea and on energy infrastructure, but criticised Washington for agreeing to ease restrictions on Russian exports.

An earlier White House statement on the issue did not clearly state when such a halt would come into effect, or which restrictions would be lifted, and initial statements from Kyiv and Moscow showed apparent disagreements.

The agreements were struck by US negotiators who met separately over three days in the Saudi capital Riyadh with delegations from Ukraine and Russia.

"These were the right meetings, the right decisions, the right steps. No one can accuse Ukraine of not moving towards sustainable peace after this," Zelensky said during a press conference in Kyiv.

He cautioned however that it was "too early to say that it will work".

Ukraine assumed the partial ceasefire would come into force from the moment Washington published the deals, Zelensky said, but Russia said the United States first needed to lift sanctions affecting Russian agriculture exports.

The United States never directly sanctioned Russian agriculture but has restricted access to payment systems used for international transactions.

Zelensky criticised Washington's decision to help restore Russia's access to the world market for its agricultural goods, saying it was "weakening" the positions of allies.

He vowed Ukrainians would "do our job to implement the agreements", though details needed to be ironed out.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who took part in the Riyadh talks with the United States, said on social media: "It is important to hold additional technical consultations as soon as possible to agree on all the details and technical aspects of the implementation, monitoring and control of the arrangements." 

But if Russian warships moved from the eastern part of the Black Sea, Umerov said, then "Ukraine will have full right to exercise right to self-defence."

Ukrainian and US officials agreed that third parties such as Turkey could oversee aspects of a future truce between Russia and Ukraine, Zelensky said. 

Also up for discussions was a planned deal on extracting strategically important minerals in Ukraine with the United States. It had been set to be signed in Washington last month, until a spectacular televised clash between Trump and Zelensky.

Washington put forward a new deal, Zelensky said, adding it was a "big, complete deal" but he had yet to see details.

Ukraine once hoped to get security guarantees in exchange for access to mineral resources, but initial drafts included little protection, and Washington has rejected sending any peacekeeping forces to Ukraine. 

Zelensky said he was expecting to gain clarity from an upcoming summit in Paris on which countries would contribute forces to oversee possible peace agreements by sending peacekeepers to his country.

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