Moscow says Russian and US officials agreed a joint statement after their talks in Saudi Arabia yesterday – but it was not officially adopted „because of Ukraine’s position“. Meanwhile, Ukraine has held its own talks with the US today. Follow the latest here.
Tuesday 25 March 2025 14:06, UK
We’re back now from our live Q&A with Michael Clarke – link in the post below.
You can catch up on a range of issues he addressed there, but we’ll share some insight with you here now, given there’s been so much focus on ceasefire talks in Saudi Arabia this week.
Asked if the return of a Black Sea deal would give Russia’s navy safe passage through waters, Clarke broke down what discussions have focused on – and why they’re likely to benefit Moscow more.
„The Russians are quite keen to do this because they want to get their stuff out,“ he said.
„At the moment, they can’t get their stuff out of the Black Sea, because of the threat that the Ukrainians could pose to their ships.“
There are two issues now on the table in talks, Clarke said.
These are:
They are both more to Russia’s benefit than Ukraine’s, Clarke said.
„It is a very, very limited ceasefire – which gets more limited every day – of the two elements that the Russians most want,“ he added.
„Because they’re the two elements that actually benefit them more than they benefit the Ukrainians.“
And with the US going for quick negotiations, in contrast to Russia’s „running-the-clock-down“ approach, Clarke said it looks like Moscow is „giving the American team a complete run-around“.
„They’re giving them a lesson in tough diplomacy, and there are none tougher than the Russians when it comes to negotiating something on the Black Sea,“ Clarke added.
And don’t overlook Turkey’s role in this, he said, as they control the waterway connecting the Black Sea to the rest of the world.
What is this Black Sea deal?
Moscow is said to be keen to revive a UN-backed deal that allows Ukraine to export grain from its ports without being attacked, known as the Black Sea grain initiative.
The deal was negotiated in July 2022 between Turkey, the UN and Russia as a way of ensuring that Ukraine, one of the breadbaskets of the world, could keep exporting grain from its southern ports.
The deal also allowed for greater Russian agricultural exports, but Moscow pulled out of the initiative in July 2023 after accusing the West of reneging on this part of the agreement.
Military analyst Michael Clarke is with us again to answer your questions on the Ukraine war – and there’s plenty to get through.
He’ll be covering topics including:
Click on the link below now to follow along…
Interfax news agency has reported Russian forces have claimed two settlements in eastern Ukraine.
Those are Myrne, in the Donetsk region, and Mali Shcherbaky, in the Zaporizhzhia region.
According to that report – which cites Russia’s defence ministry – the two settlements in the map below are the locations taken by Moscow’s forces.
Something worth noting as uproar over the extraordinary war plans leak continues – Donald Trump’s key envoy was in the infamous group chat while he was in the Kremlin.
Steve Witkoff, who is leading the US ceasefire negotiations with Ukraine and Russia, visited Moscow on 13 March, when he appeared to be in the group chat on encrypted chat platform Signal.
A journalist was accidentally added to that chat on the same day, with Witkoff’s name appearing among the list of other users there.
As our US correspondent James Matthews points out in the post below, Washington’s allies will be wondering what other classified material is discussed in group chats.
It’s likely the fact Witkoff was in Moscow when this text chain was already formed won’t ease concerns.
For a full blow-by-blow of those developments, scroll through the timeline below…
By James Matthews, US correspondent
This is a stone-cold scandal – extremely damaging, even for ‚teflon Don‘.
A most sensitive military operation was reduced to an emoji-laden group chat – think lads organising a stag do – and it put American lives at risk.
And yet, the president of the United States claimed to know nothing about it – if that’s the truth, it’s scandal squared.
His denials at a news conference begged a number of follow-up questions – not least, if he didn’t know about it, why didn’t he?
It should be noted the journalist at the heart of the matter, Jeffrey Goldberg, says that he notified the White House of his intention to run the story hours before Donald Trump’s denial.
Are we really expected to believe the president wasn’t made aware?
It’s a question that needs answering, along with a number that interrogate the competence and credibility of the Trump administration.
Journalists will want to know the answers, as will America’s security partners.
What will Russia make of this?
They are questions being asked at the very moment that US officials are sitting down with the Russians to discuss peace in Ukraine.
They include Steve Witkoff – for reference, he’s the man on the Signal chat who weighed in with five emojis after the Houthi bombing – including 🙏🙏💪🏼 and two US flags.
Russian negotiators may well be 😂😂.
For an arrogant president who likes to project strength and certainty, this episode reeks of recklessness and embarrassment that risks undermining him in the eyes of his supporters as well as his opponents.
Spinning it as a political attack and trashing the journalist involved won’t be so easy.
The political gymnastics routinely deployed by the Trump administration don’t land so well when there are grim facts staring us all in the face, as laid out in reporting confirmed by the White House itself.
To keep up with the latest developments from this story, follow our live page here…
According to Interfax news agency, Russia and the US did not adopt a joint statement after yesterday’s talks.
Citing a senior Russian senator, the report added this was due to Ukraine’s position, without elaborating.
Vladimir Chizhov, the report said, told state TV channel Rossiya-24: „The fact that they sat for 12 hours and apparently agreed on a joint statement, which was not adopted though because of Ukraine’s position, is very typical and symptomatic.“
Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the content of the negotiations would not be published (see our 9.43am post).
A joint statement was expected to be released today.
Sergei Lavrov has been speaking to reporters in Russia
He’s said Moscow is open to a new deal on Black Sea shipping, which was a focus of talks with the US yesterday.
Any new agreement, however, would need strict conditions attached, he added.
This includes the right for Russia to inspect ships and ensure any empty vessels are not used for weapons deliveries.
He also said obstacles around Russian grain and fertiliser exports have been a serious problem in the past.
What is this Black Sea deal?
Moscow is said to be keen to revive a UN-backed deal that allows Ukraine to export grain from its ports without being attacked, known as the Black Sea grain initiative.
The deal was negotiated in July 2022 between Turkey, the UN and Russia as a way of ensuring that Ukraine, one of the breadbaskets of the world, could keep exporting grain from its southern ports.
The deal also allowed for greater Russian agricultural exports, but Moscow pulled out of the initiative in July 2023 after accusing the West of reneging on this part of the agreement.
A meeting in Saudi Arabia between US and Ukrainian officials has now finished, according to a report.
The AFP news agency cites a Ukrainian source, which told them: „The talks are over. All details will be announced later.“
That would put this meeting at a few hours long – far shorter than yesterday’s 12-hour talks between the US and Russia, although teams from Washington and Kyiv did also meet on Sunday.
Earlier, Russia’s foreign ministry reported journalists were killed in a Ukrainian attack on occupied Luhansk (see our 6.52am post).
The Kremlin has now accused Kyiv of deliberately targeting them.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: „The [artillery] fire was targeted. They were deliberately targeted to kill them.
„The Kyiv regime continues its atrocities against journalists and people who do not have weapons in their hands.“
According to the ministry, the attack killed:
This report has not been independently verified.
Russia has consistently attacked civilian areas in Ukraine over the course of the war – while civilians in Russia have also been killed in Ukrainian attacks more recently.
In developments beyond Ukraine – which certainly would have turned heads in Kyiv and Moscow – an extraordinary story broke in the US last night.
An Atlantic journalist was accidentally added to a group chat of top US officials discussing plans to strike Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, with a critique of „pathetic“ Europe added for good measure.
And when we say top US officials, we mean the very top. Vice president JD Vance, national security adviser Michael Waltz and secretary of state Marco Rubio all appear to have been included.
It begs several questions – for starters, why was such highly sensitive information discussed in a group chat, and what would have happened if any one of them left their mobile phone behind?
And as our US correspondents Martha Kelner and James Matthews raise in our Trump 100 podcast, what other classified material is being discussed this way?
„These are the very people negotiating right now with Vladimir Putin,“ Matthews added.
„This is an arrogant president [Trump] who likes to project strength and certainty, which he’s going to need going forward.
„Whether he possesses it is an open question.“
We’re following updates and reaction from this story in our live page here…
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Ukraine war latest: Moscow blames Ukraine after US-Russia ceasefire talks end with no public statement – Sky News
