The next meeting between Ukrainian and US representatives, scheduled for March 24 in Saudi Arabia, will be "technical and bilateral", not political. This was stated by the spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Georgy Tykhy, quoted by "RBK-Ukraine".
According to him, Ukraine has no planned contacts with the Russian side within the framework of the upcoming talks in Riyadh, where a separate meeting between US and Russian representatives will also be held on the same day. "We communicate with the US side, and they — with the Russian side. Such a model has already proven its effectiveness, including in the signing of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in 2022, when the UN and Turkey were the mediators," Tykhy noted, referring to the diplomatic practice of "mediator diplomacy".
The Ukrainian delegation expects the talks with the US to be focused on the parameters of the various ceasefire proposals that are currently under discussion.
Separately, Tykhy also commented on the progress of the negotiations between Kiev and Washington on cooperation in the field of minerals. He confirmed that the two countries are working on an agreement and an active dialogue is being conducted at the expert level. "If the American side has additional ideas on how to finalize the document and how to move forward, they will be discussed by the relevant teams," he added.
The meeting in Saudi Arabia is taking place in the context of intense diplomatic activity related to the possible negotiation of a partial ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine with the mediation of the United States.