UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the commitments reached by the United States, Russia, and Ukraine in Saudi Arabia on freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, while the Group of Friends for Peace voiced commitment to a political ending to the conflict.
The United States has announced separate agreements with Ukraine and Russia to ensure safe passage in the Black Sea and ban military attacks by the two countries on energy facilities.
“Reaching an agreement on freedom of navigation in the Black Sea to ensure the protection of civilian vessels and port infrastructure will be a crucial contribution to global food security and supply chains, reflecting the importance of trade routes from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation to global markets,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said in a statement on March 26.
The UN remains closely engaged in the continued implementation of a memorandum of understanding with Moscow on facilitating access of Russian food and fertilizers to global markets to address world food security, he said.
The White House issued separate statements in regard to Russia and Ukraine on March 25, summarizing three days of talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Some of the points, such as on the Black Sea, contained the same language for both sides.
While it was unclear when or how the Black Sea security deals would take effect, the agreements are the first formal commitments by the two sides since US President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The statements said the parties in the three-year-long conflict have “agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea”.
China’s Mission to the United Nations said the Group of Friends for Peace discussed the latest developments on the Ukraine conflict, as well as recent dynamics toward truce talks and the prospects for achieving lasting peace.
“We firmly believe that only a negotiated political solution, including inclusive diplomacy and political means based on the UN Charter, can bring this conflict to an end,” said a statement by the group initiated by China and Brazil.
The group noted that recent developments suggest a turning point, with the focus shifting from the battlefield to the negotiating table. “We welcome this potential shift and see it as an opportunity to generate new momentum toward ending the conflict,” said Chinese ambassador to the UN Fu Cong.
The Kremlin said on March 26 that a number of conditions must be met before the Black Sea maritime security deal can be activated. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “These are the same conditions that were included in the (original) Black Sea Initiative … all the conditions of which were fulfilled except for those concerning the Russian side.”
In Kyiv, Zelensky said: “If the Russians violate this, then I have a direct question for President Trump. If they violate — here is the evidence — we ask for sanctions, we ask for weapons, etc.”
The US agreement with Russia goes further than the agreement with Ukraine.
The Kremlin said in its own statement on March 25 that the US also vowed to help restore access for Russian agricultural and fertilizer exports to the world market and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.
Zelensky said the agricultural provision was “a weakening of positions and a weakening of sanctions”.
A European Commission spokesperson said on March 26 that withdrawal of all Russian forces from Ukraine would be one of the main conditions for lifting or amending sanctions.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the UN and Turkiye in July 2022, sought to guarantee safe passage of Ukrainian agricultural exports in return for easing of Western restrictions on Russia’s grain and fertilizer. Moscow did not renew the deal in 2023, saying the West failed to uphold its commitments.
Russia also wants restrictions lifted on the Russian Agricultural Bank and other financial institutions involved in the international trade of food and fertilizers, including reconnecting them to the SWIFT payments system.
The diplomatic developments did not stop attacks on energy infrastructure on March 26, with both sides trading blame for strikes risking truce efforts.
Cui Haipei in Dubai, UAE and agencies contributed to this story.
