Cease-fire talks focus on energy sites

The United States and Russia held talks on Monday aimed at producing a 30-day limited cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine — focused on stemming attacks on energy infrastructure — but the two countries in the conflict accused the other of continuing military attacks.

One major sticking point in the discussions is what targets would be off-limits to strike.

While the White House said "energy and infrastructure" would be covered, the Kremlin said that the agreement referred more narrowly to "energy infrastructure".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he would like to see infrastructure such as railways and ports protected. Kyiv blamed Moscow for a cyberattack that knocked out the online ticketing system for Ukraine's state railway service, causing long queues at stations on Monday.

The talks in the Saudi capital of Riyadh were expected to address some of those differences, as well as a potential pause in attacks in the Black Sea to safeguard commercial shipping.

A joint statement on the talks was expected on Tuesday, according to Russia media, which reported that the talks Monday lasted more than 12 hours.

"Not every negotiation yields a high-profile document or agreement," Grigory Karasin, part of the Russian team, told reporters during a break in the negotiations. "What matters is maintaining communication and understanding each other's positions. In this regard, we are succeeding."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the US had suggested the talks focus on ways to protect the Black Sea shipping route.

"This was President Trump's suggestion, and President Putin agreed to it," Peskov said.

He also said that on the table would be the restoration of a 2022 grain deal that allowed millions of tons of Ukrainian grain to be exported. Russia withdrew from the agreement in 2023, claiming that Western sanctions restricted its own agricultural exports, The New York Times reported. The deal was originally mediated by the United Nations and Türkiye.

US President Donald Trump, in speaking to reporters at the White House, said territorial lines and the potential for US ownership of a key nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine also have been part of the talks.

Serhii Leshchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, said the delegation remained in Riyadh on Monday and expected to meet again with the Americans.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that a Ukrainian drone targeted an oil pumping station in southern Russia that serves a pipeline carrying Kazakhstan's Caspian Sea oil to the Russian port of Novorossiisk. It said the drone was downed before it could reach the station.

Peskov said Monday that the Russian military has been fulfilling President Vladimir Putin's order to halt attacks on energy facilities for 30 days. He has accused Ukraine of derailing the partial cease-fire with attacks on Russia's energy facilities, including a gas metering station in Sudzha in Russia's Kursk region.

Ukraine's military general staff rejected Moscow's accusations and blamed the Russian military for shelling the station, a claim Peskov called "absurd".

Zelensky said Sunday evening that "since March 11, a proposal for an unconditional cease-fire has been on the table, and these attacks could have already stopped."

Zelensky has emphasized that Ukraine is open to Trump's proposal of a full, 30-day cease-fire.

Putin has made a complete cease-fire conditional on a halt of arms supplies to Kyiv and a suspension of Ukraine's military mobilization — demands rejected by Kyiv and its Western allies.

Agencies contributed to this story.

hengweili@chinadailyusa.com