Moscow sets far-reaching conditions for implementing US-brokered Black Sea ceasefire

CNN — Russia will only implement a White House-brokered agreement to stop using force in the Black Sea when sanctions imposed on its banks and exports over its invasion of Ukraine are lifted, the Kremlin said Tuesday, adding further uncertainty to both ongoing peace negotiations and the wider ambition of establishing a full cease-fire.Following days of separate talks with Ukrainian and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, the White House said the two sides had agreed “to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea” while also agreeing to implement a previously announced pause on attacks against energy infrastructure.The agreements – which represent a potentially significant step forward, while falling far short of a 30-day full ceasefire initially proposed by the White House – were outlined in two separate, but very similar statements from the White House on Tuesday.But while Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed in a news conference that Ukraine had agreed to stop using military force in the Black Sea, the Kremlin released its own statement on the talks, which included far-reaching conditions for signing up to the partial truce.Those included lifting sanctions on its agricultural bank and other financial institutions and companies involved in exporting food and their re-connection to the US-controlled SWIFT international payments system.Those sanctions were imposed after Moscow launched its unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.On Tuesday afternoon, US President Donald Trump told reporters that his administration was looking at Russia’s conditions. “We’re thinking about all of them right now. There are five or six conditions. We are looking at all of them,” the US president said at the White House.The Russian stipulations raise fresh questions as to how or when such a limited agreement could be implemented, and highlight what remains a significant gulf in expectations between the two warring sides.US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is also playing a key role in talks with Russia over its war in Ukraine.Related articleTrump’s foreign envoy touts Kremlin talking points, in interview that will alarm EuropeIn his nightly address, Zelensky accused Moscow of trying to deceive mediators by adding new terms. “They are already trying to twist the agreements and actually deceive both our mediators and the whole world,” he said.The White House’s statements on the agreement with Russia made no explicit mention of Moscow’s conditions but the US appeared to have offered different rewards to Kyiv and Moscow for sticking to their side of the bargain.It included a promise that it would “help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions” – a possible indication of willingness by the US to lift some of its strict economic sanctions.The details and timeline of relaxing restrictions remain unclear, as does the future of European sanctions. Kyiv and its European allies have previously warned against lifting sanctions before a ceasefire is in place.