White House: both Ukraine and Russia agree to ceasefire

The White House said Tuesday, March 25, 2025, that both Ukraine and Russia have agreed to stop using force in the Black Sea .

According to BBC.com, it is a deal in principle that the Kremlin says comes with several conditions before it can be implemented.

US officials held series of separate meetings with Russian and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia in recent days.

The White House outlined the agreements it said the US struck with Russia and Ukraine in two separate, but very similar statements on Tuesday.

Both said that the US and each of the respective countries “have agreed to ensure safe navigation.

They have also agreed to eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.”

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed in a news conference in Kyiv that Ukraine has agreed to stop using military force in the Black Sea.

However, the Kremlin’s statement added that it would only implement the deal when restrictions on its banks and food and fertilizer exports are lifted.

The sanctions were imposed after Moscow launched its unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The US appeared to offer different rewards to Kyiv and Moscow for sticking to their side of the bargain.

The rewards include:

• a promise that it would “help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs,
• a promise to enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions – a possible indication of willingness by the US to lift some of its strict economic sanctions.

But the details and timeline of relaxing restrictions remain unclear, as does the future of European sanctions.

Kyiv and its European allies have previously warned against lifting sanctions before a ceasefire is in place.

In the statement outlining the results of the talks with Ukraine, the White House also said the US “remains committed to helping achieve the exchange of prisoners of war.

According to the statement, it is also the release of civilian detainees, and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children.

As the Trump administration pushes for peace in Ukraine, Russian officials have previously indicated interest in US-led proposals, accompanied by strenuous conditions.

Earlier this month,  Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he “agreed with the proposal” in spirit.

This was after Kyiv accepted a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire covering the entire front line.

He however requested a number of concessions before signing up to it.

An agreement that Ukraine and Russia stop targeting energy infrastructure has also been marred by allegations that both sides have continued to attack energy sites.

NO STATEMENT FROM US AND RUSSIA YET

The White House statements came after lengthy talks between the US and Russia on a potential ceasefire in Ukraine ended.

It ended without the two sides being able to agree on a joint statement, despite expectations that there would be one.

The Russian state news agency Interfax quoted  Vladimir Chizhov, as telling state TV channel Rossiya-24 that the statement was “not adopted because of Ukraine’s position.”

Chizhov is the first deputy chairman of the Russian Federation Council’s Defence and Security Committee.

Chizhov told Russia-24, according to Interfax:

“The fact that they sat for 12 hours and seemed to agree on a joint statement, which however was not adopted due to Ukraine’s position, is also very characteristic and symptomatic,”

Ukraine was not represented in the talks and Chizhov did not give any details on the “Ukraine’s position.”

Russian and US officials had met at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh on Monday.

This was the same location where the US delegation met with Ukrainian officials on Sunday.

Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov described his meeting with President Donald Trump’s envoy Keith Kellogg on Sunday as “productive and focused.”

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