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Washington on Tuesday, 25 March, announced that it had reached separate agreements with Ukraine and Russia to end attacks in the Black Sea and on energy facilities, Reuters reports. These agreements are the first official commitments between the parties since the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
Despite the lack of clear information on the mechanisms for implementing the agreements, the White House noted that the United States would act as a guarantor of their compliance. At the same time, according to the agency, Washington has agreed to seek a partial lifting of sanctions against Russia, particularly in the field of agricultural exports and fertilisers, which have been Moscow’s key demands in recent months.
Different visions of the parties
Moscow was quick to respond to the news, saying that the Black Sea agreements would not come into force unless the connection between individual Russian banks and the international financial system, including access to SWIFT, was restored.
In his evening address, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that no easing of sanctions is a condition for the start of the agreements:
“They are already trying to distort the agreements and, in fact, deceive both our mediators and the whole world.”
Despite scepticism, both sides agreed to monitor compliance with the agreements under US auspices. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said:
“We need clear guarantees. And, given the sad experience with Kyiv, such guarantees can only come from direct orders from Washington to the Zelenskyy team.”
Zelenskyy, in turn, said that in case of violations by Moscow, he would demand new sanctions and additional weapons for Ukraine from Trump:
“We do not believe the Russians, but we will be constructive,” he added.
New attacks claimed despite agreement
Within hours of the announcement of the agreement, Kyiv and Moscow accused each other of using drones, although no strikes on the Black Sea or energy infrastructure were reported.
The Kremlin said late in the evening that it had agreed to a 30-day pause in military attacks on energy facilities from 18 March, the date when it was first discussed between Putin and Trump. Moscow also expressed its readiness to extend the agreement.
Ukraine agreed to the pause only after formal agreements were reached, as both sides had been actively attacking energy infrastructure: Russia with missiles and drones, and Ukraine with long-range strikes on Russian oil and gas facilities.
Black Sea: a new security framework
The Black Sea agreements are designed to reduce risks in a region where, at the beginning of the war, Russia imposed a de facto naval blockade of Ukraine, which caused a global food crisis.
After the successful Ukrainian attacks, Russia withdrew its fleet from the eastern Black Sea, and Kyiv resumed grain exports despite the collapse of the UN-brokered deal. However, ports remain under threat from air strikes. Zelenskyy said the new agreement was designed to prevent this.
Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov stressed that any movement of Russian ships outside the Russian-controlled zone would be perceived as a threat and Ukraine would have the full right to self-defence.
Trump and diplomacy in the face of scepticism
In a commentary to Newsmax, Trump admitted that Russia could be deliberately delaying the end of the war:
“I think Russia wants to put an end to this, but maybe they are stalling for time. I’ve done it myself for many years.”
Behind the scenes, Washington softened its tone towards Moscow, with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff saying that he “doesn’t think Putin is a bad guy”, which caused concern among European allies.
Lavrov commented on Witkoff’s statements with scepticism:
“He significantly overestimates the European elites who want to ‘hang a stone around Zelenskyy’s neck’ to prevent him from ‘giving up’.”
Kyiv’s western allies do not hide their fears that Trump could strike a hasty deal with Putin that would undermine Ukraine’s security and require it to give up its membership in NATO and the occupied territories.
