Daily SumUp

Russia and the United States will hold consultations in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 24 to discuss the war in Ukraine, according to Russian presidential aide for international affairs Yuri Ushakov, as reported by state-owned news agency TASS on March 20.

Ushakov said he had spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, regarding "the implementation of a well-known initiative concerning the safety of navigation in the Black Sea."

A similar arrangement previously existed under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a deal brokered by the U.N. and Turkey in 2022. The initiative allowed Ukraine to export agricultural products via the Black Sea despite Russia's full-scale invasion, helping stabilize global food prices.

Moscow withdrew from the agreement in July 2023, effectively collapsing the deal.