The Kremlin is taking advantage of a White House eager to demonstrate that Donald Trump is the only leader who can achieve peace in the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine. The agreement reached by US negotiators in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday appears to offer numerous concessions to the Kremlin, raising questions about what Russia had to offer in return for their first proposal of sanctions relief since the conflict began. The agreement includes a moratorium on attacks on each other’s ships in the Black Sea, where Ukraine had previously used seaborne drones and special operations units to challenge Russian control. However, the White House did not disclose the details of the agreement, and the Kremlin stated that they would only implement the Black Sea ceasefire once the US provides sanctions relief on Russian agricultural products and fertilizers, as well as removing a major state-owned bank from the sanctions list.

This would mark the first significant rollback of sanctions on Russia since the war began, indicating that Moscow seeks both political and military concessions from Ukraine, as well as an escape from international isolation. The Trump administration seems willing to accept this deal, but any sanctions relief would be limited by Europe’s readiness to take similar measures, leaving Europe more isolated in its efforts to restrain Russia. Ukraine had opposed any easing of sanctions against the Kremlin, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy considering it a weakening of their position and incompatible with an unconditional ceasefire. It is unclear whether the White House intentionally concealed plans to ease sanctions or if US negotiators were caught off guard by Russia’s demand for trade and finance restrictions to be eased in order to achieve a partial ceasefire in Ukraine.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/25/russia-ukraine-ceasefire-trump