Russia and Ukraine agree to 'eliminate the use of force' in Black Sea

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: The Guardian

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to “eliminate the use of force” in the Black Sea after parallel talks with US negotiators in Saudi Arabia, though the Kremlin said a maritime ceasefire would start only if it received sanctions relief on agricultural exports.

The warring parties also agreed to implement a previously announced 30-day halt on attacks against energy networks and to expand its scope, but resolving fundamental issues, including any division of territory, remains far off.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, welcomed the developments but said Kyiv did not support weakening sanctions on Russia and voiced concern over talks the US appeared to be having with the Kremlin about a partition of Ukraine.
...
Ukrainian negotiators in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, had had no discussions of their own about the future division of territory, Zelenskyy added, saying it appeared that the US had talked to the Kremlin team about dividing Ukraine.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/25/russia-and-ukraine-agree-ceasefire-in-black-sea

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the deal to halt strikes in the Black Sea was a step in the right direction.

"It is too early to say that it will work, but these were the right meetings, the right decisions, the right steps," he told a press conference in Kyiv.

"No-one can accuse Ukraine of not moving towards sustainable peace after this," he added, after US President Donald Trump had previously accused him of blocking a peace deal.
...
The measures demanded by Russia include reconnecting the banks concerned to the SwiftPay payment system, lifting restrictions on servicing ships under the Russian flag involved in the food trade, and on the supply of agricultural machinery and other goods needed for the production of food.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y2nvezdnwo

[maxsolomon]

1. So run the drones over the Sea of Azov

That's not the Black Sea, right?

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Commentary: this gives Trump the chance to allow Russia to launder as much cash as it wants

In essence, the United States has agreed to let Russia rebuild its economic and military capacity in exchange for a thirty-day ceasefire in the Black Sea, a prisoner exchange, a moratorium on hitting energy targets, and a few other mutual steps by Kyiv and Moscow.

How much has Witkoff capitulated to Putin while throwing Ukraine and our NATO allies under the bus? That’s unclear. It depends on what the U.S. agreement to help Russia “access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions” involves. Moscow says that the U.S. has to end sanctions on Russia’s agricultural bank.
...
In principle, such a step could enable Russia to launder any number of unrelated transactions through the bank, thereby evading the single most important component of the current sanctions regime. But don’t worry. I’m sure the Trump administration will approach any such arrangement with the careful oversight, technical competency, and aversion to corruption that have become hallmarks of its approach to governance.

https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2025/03/making-russia-great-again-again

[Buddyzbuddy]

3. I guess there are no more shipments of Ukrainian

wheat to destroy.

[Torchlight]

4. I assume this is a ruse by Putin, and I assume Pres. Zelenskyy assumes this as well.

I also think Pres. Zelenskyy made a very sublte and successful diplomatic feint against trump with his post-conference comment.