US, Russia talk revival of Black Sea grain deal

KABUL (Pajhwok): As Moscow and Washington held 12-hour talks in Riyadh, a Russia missile strike wounded scores of people in north-eastern Ukraine, say media reports.

The revival of a 2022 grain deal allowing Ukrainian export across the Black Sea, figure prominently at the marathon US-Russia negotiations, which concluded on Monday evening in the Saudi capital,

According to the BBC, Russia walked out of the Black Sea grain dea in mid-2023 and stopped giving safe passage to cargo ships going to and from Ukraine, complaining of continuing sanctions.

About 88 people including women and children were wounded in the Russian attack in the city of Sumy, prompting Ukrainian foreign minister to ask Russia for an end to strikes and making hollow statements about peace.

Reuters news agency quoted a White House source as saying late on Monday the negotiations in the oil-rich kingdom were going “extremely well” and it expected “to have a positive announcement in the near future”.

Also on Monday, the defence ministry in Moscow blamed Ukraine for launching a drone attack against the Kropotkinskaya oil pumping station in Krasnodar. The ministry claimed shooting down 227 Ukrainian drones in different regions.

Speaking to Fox News US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said he was optimistic of real progress being made during the talks.

While pushing for for progress toward a ceasefire in separate in the conflict, Trump administration officials are in separate talks with Russia and Ukraine.

PAN Monitor/mud