Russia and Ukraine agree to halt Black Sea strikes, US says 

Russia and Ukraine have agreed separately to avoid military strikes on vessels in the Black Sea, the United States has announced after talks in Saudi Arabia.

In parallel statements, the White House said on Tuesday that each country “agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea”.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who was a member of his country’s delegation in Riyadh, confirmed Kyiv had agreed to the partial ceasefire, specifying that it included attacks on Black Sea shipping and energy infrastructure.

He warned in a Facebook post that Kyiv would view any movements of Russian warships “outside the eastern part” of the Black Sea as a violation of the agreement to stop the “use of force”.

In such an instance, Ukraine would have the “full right to exercise right to self-defence”, he said.

Umerov also called for “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”.

There was no immediate comment from Russia.

The announcement came after United States negotiators held talks with Russian and Ukrainian teams that were primarily focused on ending attacks on Black Sea shipping with a view to ushering in a broader ceasefire in the more-than three-year Russia-Ukraine war.

During a marathon 12-hour session on Monday, US and Russian officials discussed the possible resumption of the 2022 Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement that was supposed to allow Ukraine to ship millions of tonnes of grain and other food exports from its ports.

Moscow pulled out of the initiative, brokered by Turkiye and the United Nations, in 2023, accusing the West of failing to uphold its commitments to ease sanctions on Russia’s own exports of farm products and fertilisers.

The United States said Tuesday it would support the resumption of Russian fertiliser exports.

“The United States will help restore Russia’s 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,” said a White House statement.