Zelensky calls on Washington to tighten sanctions on Moscow for violating the Saudi agreement on energy facilities
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday called on the United States to tighten sanctions on Russia, accusing it of violating a pledge it made in separate talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia to neutralize energy facilities in the war.
“I think we’ve reached a point where the sanctions are becoming more effective, because I think the Russians are violating what they promised the United States, at least what the United States told us and said publicly,” Zelensky said in remarks in the Ukrainian capital.
“We hope that President Donald Trump has all the appropriate means to increase the pressure of sanctions on the Russian side,” he added.
In another context, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha announced the initiation of negotiations between his country and the United States regarding the text of the upcoming rare earths agreement.
This came in statements made by Sybiha on Tuesday during a joint press conference with his Lithuanian counterpart, Kęstutis Budrys, in the capital, Kyiv.
The Ukrainian minister said he briefed his Lithuanian counterpart on the ceasefire talks recently hosted by Saudi Arabia.
He pointed to the agreed-upon decision between Russia and Ukraine to halt attacks on energy infrastructure, which was taken during these meetings.
Sybiha accused Russia of continuing its attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure despite this resolution.
He added that Russia continues to violate this resolution, with damage to energy facilities in the Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Kharkov, and Poltava.
He stated that Russia targeted the Kherson power plant on Tuesday morning, causing a power outage for 45,000 people.
Regarding preparations for the rare earths’ agreement between his country and the United States, Sybiha revealed that his ministry received a new draft of the agreement from Washington on March 28.
He stated that his country is trying to prepare an agreement text that is suitable for both sides.
He said, “We’ve our own laws for developing this type of document… Accordingly, preparations have begun to initiate the necessary internal procedures… I confirm that we have begun consultations with the American side regarding the draft agreement”.
It’s worth noting that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has previously hosted a number of meetings to discuss ways to end the Russian war in Ukraine.
Among the most prominent of these meetings was the one held on February 18 between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, as well as a meeting between Rubio and his Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Sybiha.
