The US reached deals on Tuesday with Ukraine and Russia to pause attacks at sea and against energy targets, with Washington agreeing to push to lift some sanctions against Moscow in its latest step towards endorsing Russia’s positions.
The separate agreements are the first formal commitments by the warring sides since the inauguration of Donald Trump, who is pushing for an end to the war and a rapid rapprochement with Moscow that has alarmed Kyiv and European countries.
The US agreement with Russia goes further than the agreement with Ukraine, with Washington committing to help seek the lifting of international sanctions on Russian agriculture and fertiliser exports, long a persistent Russian demand.
The Kremlin said the Black Sea agreements would not come into effect unless links between some Russian banks and the international financial system were restored.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this was untrue, and there was no requirement of sanctions relief for the deals to come into force.
“Unfortunately, even now, even today, on the very day of negotiations, we see how the Russians have already begun to manipulate,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address. “They are already trying to distort agreements and, in fact, deceive both our intermediaries and the entire world.”