White House thanks Saudi crown prince for facilitating Russia and Ukraine talks

The White House on Tuesday thanked Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on facilitating important talks on safe navigation in the Black Sea.

A White House statement said: “The United States expresses gratitude to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his leadership and hospitality in once again facilitating these important discussions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

The US reached separate agreements with Russia and Ukraine in the Saudi capital Riyadh to keep the waterway, a vital route for agricultural goods, secure.

The two warring parties came to Saudi Arabia to discuss, with US and Saudi officials, first steps on settling crucial issues in the hopes of then reaching a wider resolution to the conflict.

Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and has annexed parts of the country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the talks and said they were early steps toward a peaceful settlement.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: “We will need clear guarantees. And given the sad experience of agreements with just Kyiv, the guarantees can only be the result of an order from Washington to Zelensky and his team to do one thing and not the other.”