US President Donald Trump has said diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine are gaining ground, but warned that the sides view each other with deep resentment.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, the US leader stressed the desire to end hostilities, claiming that Ukraine and Russia are "losing 2,500 young people every week."
“I think we are making progress, but there is a lot of ill will between the parties,” he said.
US Vice President JD Vance echoed the comments during his visit to Greenland, stating, “we’ve definitely got this energy infrastructure ceasefire [between Russia and Ukraine]; we have a Black Sea trade ceasefire that I think is almost ready and once we get there, we’ll work on the next phase of the ceasefire.”
His comments come as Russia and the US have engaged in active talks aimed at restoring bilateral ties and halting hostilities between Moscow and Kiev. On March 18, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed a possible ceasefire and agreed to a 30-day pause in attacks targeting energy infrastructure.
However, Russia has accused Ukraine of violating the agreement on multiple occasions. Moscow has signaled that it plans to adhere to the moratorium, but warned of a possible symmetrical response to Kiev if it continues to violate the agreement.
Additional negotiations between Russian and American delegations took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this week. The meetings focused on restoring the 2022 grain deal, which secured Ukrainian food exports via the Black Sea.
While Moscow has agreed to this in principle, it will only accept a naval ceasefire if the West lifts its sanctions on the Russian Agricultural Bank and other financial institutions involved in the sale of food and fertilizers, which would require their reconnection to the SWIFT payment system.
However, the EU has rejected the request, stating that the sanctions will remain in place until Russia withdraws its troops from all territories claimed by Ukraine. In this regard, the European Commission's spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, Anitta Hipper, stressed that "the EU's main focus remains to maximize pressure on Russia, using all available means."