Russia shows lack of commitment in U.S. talks in Riyadh - Russian opposition politician

He shared his opinions on Espreso TV.

"I would describe this as negotiations about negotiations, which remain pretentious and insincere. If we consider this a formal expression of the will of two leaders, Trump and Putin, who communicate both directly and indirectly, then such consultations do not involve lower-tier representatives of Russian power—like former Deputy Minister Karasin and General Beseda, an advisor to the head of Russia’s FSB, not even a key figure in the relevant field. This is clearly a signal that Moscow is not serious and has no intention of negotiating anything fundamentally important," Mark Feygin emphasized.

According to him, even the topics discussed were largely insignificant. Regarding energy infrastructure targets and a proposed 30-day strike ban, he noted that this primarily benefits Russia. It’s in their interest, and they manipulated it in their favor by presenting a list including refineries, oil pipelines, gas pipelines, and so on. It should be noted that while Ukraine’s most sensitive energy facilities have suffered, they are still covered by air defense systems, whereas Russia’s situation is worse.

"All these talks in Riyadh are so unserious, they do not affect the main issue of war and peace at all, not at all. If a truce were reached on the terms of a “30-day absolute everywhere” ceasefire, it would be easier to test, even easier to observe, if you will. Because for 30 days the fire stops everywhere, the movement of troops stops. And it's easy to verify. As for strikes on an energy facility, go prove that we hit it. It was the debris of your anti-missile that fell on your nuclear power plant or an electrical substation or something else. The Ukrainian side will say the same thing: “Look, you shot down a drone and it fell on your refinery. What do we have to do with it? This drone was flying somewhere else.” So, striking an energy facility is forbidden, but hitting a residential building where people live is apparently acceptable? It’s ridiculous and completely unserious," he commented.

In his opinion, Moscow understands the complete lack of seriousness and the pretense of these negotiations, the initial steps, while saying, "Look, they are getting closer," "progress."

"Trump himself stated—this has been published everywhere—that he believes Moscow supposedly wants peace but is stalling negotiations. Excuse me, it's not just stalling; it's torpedoing them. In a private conversation, Putin rejected the condition of an unconditional ceasefire proposed by Trump—not by Zelenskyy, but by Trump! If he refused, what else is there to discuss? Everything else is unserious; sanctions should have been imposed," Feygin concluded.

• On March 25, a new round of talks took place in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, between the Ukrainian and American delegations. Kyiv, Washington, and Moscow agreed to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea.
• On March 26, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Russia's conditions for an agreement on a ceasefire in the Black Sea include the lifting of European sanctions.