Russia hopes to make 'some progress' at upcoming Riyadh talks on Ukraine war ceasefire

Russia on Saturday said that it hopes to make “some progress” at talks with the US in Riyadh next week, a negotiator from Moscow told local media. This will be the second round of talks on ceasefire with Washington ready to meet delegates from both Russia and Ukraine this time.

Earlier, Moscow had rejected a US-Ukraine proposal for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire and suggested just to halt aerial strikes on energy facilities. However, both sides have continued striking each other unabated.

US negotiators will meet separately with Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Saudi Arabia on Monday, in what US envoy Keith Kellogg described as “shuttle diplomacy” between hotel rooms.

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Despite the flurry of diplomacy and push from US President Donald Trump, a breakthrough has so far proved elusive.

“We hope to achieve at least some progress,” Russian senator Grigory Karasin, who will lead the Russian delegation, told the Zvezda TV channel, without specifying on what issue.

He added that the Russian delegation will take a “combative and constructive” mood into the talks.

Meanwhile, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP that Kyiv is hoping to secure agreement “at least” on a partial ceasefire covering attacks on energy, infrastructure and at sea.

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Ukraine has accused Russia of not genuinely seeking peace and slammed its ongoing attacks, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin saying on Tuesday he had ordered his army to stop targeting Ukrainian energy sites.

Kyiv’s allies including members of the European Union have claimed that both Russia and US are not holding “serious” talks on negotiations. Last week, Trump held a phone call with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, describing it as “good” and adding “We’re very much on track.”

The US president has also held parallel calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia fired 179 drones at Ukraine in its latest overnight barrage, the Ukrainian air force said Saturday.

In the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, an entire family, including a 14-year-old girl, was killed when a drone crashed into their house late Friday.

With inputs from agencies