Ukraine and Russia have reached an understanding to halt military operations in the Black Sea, but Moscow is demanding that the United States step in and explicitly instruct Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to abide by the arrangement.
Following an unsuccessful attempt to secure a broader cease-fire agreement during talks mediated by the US on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Russia is willing to temporarily ease hostilities in the crucial shipping region—provided it receives firm assurances from the Trump administration.
“We will need clear guarantees,” Lavrov said in televised comments. “And given the sad experience of agreements with just Kyiv, the guarantees can only be the result of an order from Washington to Zelensky and his team to do one thing and not the other.”
Lavrov suggested that Washington seems to have understood the message from Moscow and acknowledged that American intervention is essential to securing any meaningful progress.
“And it seems to me that our American partners have received this signal,” he said. “They understand that only Washington can achieve positive results in stopping terrorist attacks, stopping shelling of civilian infrastructure, energy infrastructure not related to the military-industrial complex.”
Officials from the Trump administration confirmed on Tuesday that Ukraine had agreed to the narrowly scoped cease-fire proposal.
Lavrov has repeatedly characterized Ukraine’s defense efforts as acts of “terrorism,” even as Russia continues launching attacks via the Black Sea against Ukrainian targets.
When Russia first launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, both countries agreed to a limited maritime truce, which allowed Ukraine to export nearly 33 million metric tons of grain, helping to stabilize global food supplies.
However, Moscow pulled out of that agreement one year later, following increased sanctions targeting the Russian economy, and resumed its maritime offensives.
The renewed agreement would enable Ukrainian grain shipments to resume through the Black Sea, while also reopening trade routes for Russian exports of grain and fertilizer—critical sources of revenue for the Kremlin.
Zelensky has previously indicated that Ukraine would observe a restricted cease-fire arrangement, so long as Russia honors its side of the deal.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry warned that any movement of Russian naval vessels beyond the “eastern part of the Black Sea” would breach the terms of the agreement and endanger Ukraine’s national security.
“In this case Ukraine will have full right to exercise right to self-defenses,” the ministry said in a statement.
Earlier, the two nations had come to an understanding to avoid targeting each other’s energy facilities on land, following talks between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, within hours of that meeting, Russia launched fresh strikes on Ukraine’s power infrastructure.
American diplomats are now hoping that this latest Black Sea agreement might lead to broader peace talks and eventually bring an end to a war that has dragged on for more than three years.
On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian officials were still “analyzing” the outcome of the latest talks, as neither Washington nor Moscow issued a joint statement following the meetings.
{Matzav.com}The post Russia and Ukraine Agree to Black Sea Truce, US Says first appeared on Matzav.com.